Adele Winchester
by OliviaSalvatore
Summary: After the biblical apocalypse ended and Sam is trapped in Lucifer's cage, Dean suggests to his younger half-sister, Adeline, to try a normal life and ships her off to Mystic Falls to live with Alaric Saltzman. But since when can a Winchester have a normal life?
1. Chapter 1

I was lost in sad thoughts about Sam when I hear my oldest brother speak. "You're leaving," Dean says, looking straight at me.

"What?" I exclaim. "Why?"

I was not expecting this. Never in our hectic life have either of my older brothers told me I am leaving.

"You need a normal life, Ade."

"And since when has a normal life worked for any of us?" I ask him, eyebrow raised and arms crossed. "Never. Even now with you, Lisa and Ben. It's impossible for us."

"You need to try." I open my mouth to protest when Dean says, "You need to be safe from all of the crap in our lives. Please try. The angels can't find you because of the engravings in your ribs. Please, Ade," he begs me. "You promised Sam."

"You promised. I listened." I sigh. "There is no way to get you to change your mind, is there?"

"Nope," Dean replies. "I've already gotten everything set up. You will be staying with Alaric Saltzman in Mystic Falls, Virginia."

"Alaric Saltzman... That's that vampire hunter we ran into almost a year ago, isn't it?"

"Yep. And he's not like Gordon so you should be safe. He moved there yesterday and got a job as a teacher at the high school. The same high school you will be attending."

"What about my name? We are convicted criminals."

"Who died years ago," Dean, sadly, has a point.

I groan, giving up. "Great...At least he's not Gordon...When am I leaving?"

"Now. I told Lisa what I'm doing today," Dean answers. I quickly pack a bag filled with clothes and weapons for precaution. "Let's go,"

We walk out of the house and get in Dean's new car. My oldest brother starts driving towards Mystic Falls.

My name is Adeline Lydia Winchester. I am Sam and Dean's younger half-sister. I am seventeen years old, and I don't remember a calm life. At twelve years old, Dad went missing. At thirteen years old, dad died. Fourteen, Dean sold his soul for Sam. Fifteen, Dean went to hell. Sixteen, Apocalypse starts. Seventeen, Sam jumps in the cage and stops the biblical apocalypse. All in all, life sucks. Sam's dead, in Lucifer's cage no less.

Later that day, we finally arrive at Alaric Saltzman's apartment. My brother hands me a couple hundred dollars, and I pocket it. Dean knocks on the door. "Hi, Alaric," he greets when Alaric opens the door. "Thanks for this, man."

"No problem," Alaric replies.

Dean gives me a quick hug, and we say good-bye. Then I go inside Alaric's apartment.

"So..." Alaric trails off uncomfortably.

"All I need is a roof over my head. You won't have to worry about the rest," I assure him.

Alaric gives me a look. "And what? You use stolen credit cards and poker money to get food?"

I slightly chuckle. "I guess that's not the best idea, but it'll work."

Alaric walks over to a door. "Here's your room."

"Thanks, Ric. Can I call you Ric? Alaric is a mouthful."

"Sure. And no problem."

I slightly smile at him and go into the room. There is a comfortable enough looking bed, which is better than a couch. I pull out my clothes from my duffle bags and look through them. A few of them have blood stains, but due to the fact Lisa got me new clothes, most of them don't. I take a shower and change into shorts and a shirt and go to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, I get dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and my jacket. I brush my wavy brown hair and pocket some money and my phone. I grab safety precautions and a couple of notebooks. Then I walk out of my new room.

"I'll drive you to school," Ric offers me.

"Thanks," I mutter, and we drive to school.

During the ride, I think about Sam. God, why did he have to die? I miss him so much. Maybe I could bring him back.

Don't think like that. You promised him. My inner voice tells me.

I promised him I wouldn't sell my soul. Doesn't mean there isn't another way...

My thoughts were interrupted as we pulled into the school. Mystic Falls High. How original. I go to the office and get my schedule. My new name is Adele Winchester. When I get to History, the class Ric teaches, I take a seat towards the back of the class. The bell rings, and he walks into the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone," Ric greets. He walks over to his chalkboard and starts writing his name on the board. "Alright-y. Alaric Saltzman. It's a mouthful, I know. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Saltzman is of German origins. My family immigrated here in the year 1755 to Texas. I, however, was born and raised in Boston. Now the name Alaric comes from a very dead great-grandfather who I will never be able to thank enough. You'll probably want to pronounce it Ala-ric, but it's A-lar-ric. So you can call me Ric. I'm your new history teacher."

At the end of another class, a blonde girl comes up to me. "Hi, you must be new here. I'm Caroline Forbes."

"Adele Winchester," I say giving her a fake smile. It will take a long time before I can get a true smile out again. "Nice to meet you, Caroline."

"So where are you from?"

"Sioux Falls, South Dakota," I answer, saying Bobby's town, "but I move around a lot."

"Why?" Caroline questions.

"Family business. It's complicated. I think I'm staying here for a while though," I tell her.

She smiles. "That's great. I'll introduce you to people. You'll make friends and feel welcome in no time."

"Thanks. So have you lived here your whole life?"

"Yeah. Most people here have."

I ask, "So it's strange to have a newcomer here then, huh?"

"Usually. We had a newcomer at the beginning of this school year. Stefan Salvatore. Oh and then there's his older out of school brother Damon."

We walk out of the school building, and Caroline says hey to a blonde guy.

"Hey," he replies as he walks by.

"What is that?" Caroline asks and he turns back around and walks back over to us.

"What is what?"

"The hey. That's twice. That is two heys. Do you have any other words in your vocabulary?" I suddenly feel like an awkward third wheel.

"What is wrong with hey?" the guy asks her.

"It reeks of awkward subtext. You spent the night in my bed. There was cuddling and then you snuck out before dawn so you wouldn't have to face me which, I must say, is a total lame guy move that I did not appreciate. Now the heys. Seriously? I may have been a pathetic insecure mess after the party, but do not mistake that for me being a pushover because I do not like guys messing with my head anymore."

"I heard your mom in the morning. I didn't want to get you in trouble so I went out the window."

"You went out the window," Caroline repeats. "Another lame guy move."

"Your mom's the Sheriff. And as for the heys... I'm pretty sure it's what I've said every day since the first grade. Trying to read something into it? Lame girl move." The blonde guy turns to me. "Hi, I'm Matt."

"Adele."

"Nice to meet you," Matt glances at Caroline before walking away.

"Sorry about that," Caroline apologizes.

"No worries," I assure her. "Everyone's got their own drama."

"Do you have any intent on spilling yours?" she asks me.

I shake my head. "Nope."

After school, Alaric and I drive to Mystic Grill. He goes to one table and pulls out a book, and I take a seat at another table. There I order a burger and a coke. As I eat my burger, I see Ric stand up and go to another table.

When I am done with my burger, I walk over to the pool table and watch a guy finish a pool game.

"Hey. Whoa," I say, stumbling over to him, acting drunk, and he helps me up. I giggle. "Thanks. I almost fell. How embarassing," I giggle again. "Wanna play pool? Winner gets $15?"

"You sure you want to play? You look like you've had too much to drink."

"I'm sure," I slur out. "Scared I'm going to beat you...?"

"No! Sure," he agrees. We lay our money down on the side of the table. "I'm Tyler, by the way."

We play pool, and I lose the game horribly. "Come on... Retry. How about I add $40?" I throw down $40 drunkenly.

Tyler looks at me like I'm insane. "You sure you want to do that?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Suit yourself," Tyler says, and he lays $40 on the table.

We rematch, and I ace the game beautifully. I grin innocently and wink at Tyler before taking the money and walking off, leaving him with a stunned look on his face, questioning what happened. $55 has been added to my pocket.

I walk the town and eventually get back to Alaric's apartment. There I open my school book and read so I don't fail school. Mostly I read through science because I know most of the rest of the subjects.

A few hours later, I put the book to the side and try to get some sleep. It doesn't work to well. I don't fall asleep for another hour. Early the next morning, I wake up from nightmares about Sam falling into the pit. I reach for my phone and check the time. 4:07. I groan and bury my head in my pillow. After a few minutes I sit up in the bed and pull out my laptop.

Once I see that I have Wi-Fi, I get on the internet and look up Mystic Falls, Virginia. I look through article after article. 5 animal attacks so far this year. I then hack into the Mystic Falls database and find out that there have been many animal attacks spread out throughout the years dating back to 1864. Vampires?

When it's time to get ready for school, I throw on a shirt, jeans and jacket. Then I head out the apartment and walk to school. I meet Caroline's friends, Elena and Bonnie. I run into Tyler and Matt who are playing basketball.

"Can I join you guys?" I ask them.

"Sure," Matt says at the same time Tyler replies, "No."

"Why not?" Matt looks at Tyler confused.

He answers, "I don't trust her or like her."

"Hey. No need to get hasty about it," I mutter.

"No need-You took my money!"

"You agreed to the bet. It was completely fair," I reply smirking.

Tyler narrows his eyes at me and shakes his head slightly.

Matt looks at me. "Come on and play."

"Thank you, Matt. At least someone is nice to me today," I say, glancing at Tyler.

Tyler shakes his head and dribbles the ball. "So, what's up with you and Forbes?" Tyler asks Matt.

He answers, "Nothing's up."

"I saw you two in the hall today. Don't even try to deny it, bro. You're tapping that."

"No," Matt denies. "It's not like that."

"It never is. Until you become we people."

"We people?"

"Yeah. We'll make it to the party. We'll never miss a game. We don't like the color red."

"We hung out, like, twice." Matt shoots the ball into the basketball goal, and I grab the ball.

Tyler says, "Like I said. We." I take a shot, and the ball made it straight into the hoop. Tyler grabs the ball. "I never got your name."

"Adele Winchester," I reply.

After school is the career fair. I walk through the halls and overhear the Sheriff and the mayor.

"The Mayor says, "So what do we know?

"Nothing new to report yet," Sheriff Forbes replies. The Mayor groans. "My highly reliable deputies are all on alert, but if you feel the need to be more proactive, by all means, grab a stake and have at it." So the town is in on it, and they want to stop the vampires, but they clearly don't know that vampires can only die from beheading. And I was right about the vampires! Yes! Well I wish people weren't dying, but I can stop more deaths from happening.

Mayor grabs a cup of coffee, and he says, "What extra precautions can we take?"

"Right now, there is nowhere safer than a crowded public place, and for once, Mayor, we actually know where our kids are."

I leave them and walk over to Tyler who is standing by sketches. Another kid, who I recognize from the table where Alaric went to talk, walks over there at the same time.

"What do you want?" Tyler asks, and I'm not sure if he's talking to me or the other guy.

"Hey. Uh, I'm just surprised to see you here. Art usually implies culture and culture implies, well, not you"

"Go to hell," Tyler mutters and walks off. The other guy smirks and looks down at the sketchpad. I do the same.

It's signed: Tyler Lockwood

"Hi I'm Jeremy Gilbert," the boy says, offering me his hand.

"Hi. Adele Winchester."

"I haven't seen you around before. You're new?" Jeremy asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "I moved into town a few days ago."

"Cool. What do you like to do?"

"Uh," I fumble, not exactly sure what to say. "I can draw and fix cars."

"That's cool and can come in handy."

"Yeah. My brother taught me. Well how to fix cars. He's a crappy artist. Stick figures."

Jeremy chuckles. "That is pretty crappy. So where are you from?"

"Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but I move around a lot."

"So do you think you'll stay for long?"

"Uh, yeah. It seems like I'm going to stay for a while. My brother is dead set on it."

"Well that's good."

"Jeremy!" A woman walks over to us. "Who's your friend?"

"Uh, Adele, this is my Aunt Jenna."

"Hi. I just moved into town," I smile at Jenna.

After talking to Jenna and Jeremy, I roam the school again. Eventually I see Elena and Jenna talking in the hall.

Jenna replies to whatever Elena said, "He was the usual Logan, was charming, a little more manic than usual. He kept trying to convince me to let him in." Elena looks at her. "What?"

"Ok, listen to me very carefully. Do not, under any circumstances, talk to him again. I'm serious, Jenna, like ever!"

"What's going on?" I ask, walking up to them.

Alaric walks over to us. "Hey, Elena, Jenna, Adele."

"Hey, Ric," I greet while Elena says, "Hi, Mr. Saltzman."

"Yeah I was hoping to see you tonight," Alaric tells Jenna. I smirk knowingly.

"Career night is the new bowling."

Alaric laughs. "Excuse me," Elena says and walks away. I follow her in confusion. She walks out of the school, and I shake myself out of it. It's probably nothing. I should keep a lookout either way though.

"Liz," I hear a guy tell the Sheriff.

She looks at him shocked. "Logan." She starts to pull out her gun.

"What are you gonna do? Stake me? Bury me in another shallow grave?" Logan questioned. "What would the email say this time?"

"I didn't have a choice," Sheriff Forbes tells him.

"You bitch! I died for you, for this town. You've known me since I was six and you swept me under the rug like dirt.

"You knew what you were getting into."

The vampire says angrily, "I was one of you."

Sheriff replies, "And now you're one of them."

Logan starts to leave, but turns around and whispers into the sheriff's ear. "Watch your back, Sheriff." Logan smiles and leaves.

Sheriff Forbes pulls out her phone and calls her deputy. "Get a backup team to the school immediately. Keep it within the circle. It's a V5."

How do people not overhear conversations like that in public? You know, I'm starting to rethink the whole saving people thing if they can't even hear a conversation like that that is happening right in front of them. The world is doomed. Doesn't mean we can't still try.

Jeremy and Tyler get into a fight in the hallway, and the mayor, Tyler's father, takes them outside. Alaric and I follow them to make sure they are alright because Mayor Lockwood looked... well I knew he was going to do something.

Tyler says, "Come on, dad."

"That's not gonna happen," Jeremy tells the mayor.

"I said fight!" Tyler tries to leave, but the mayor pushes him into Jeremy.

Alaric and I approach them. "Whoa. What's going on out here?" Alaric asks.

"Just letting these two kids work it out." Mayor Lockwood says, "We're good here. Go back inside."

"I don't wanna go back inside. What I want is an answer to my question. What's going on out here?"

Tyler's dad asks, "Who do you think you're talking to? Do I look like a student?"

"No. You look like a full grown alpha male douchebag," Alaric answers. Go Ric! Jeremy and I smirk. Tyler looks at him shocked.

"You don't talk to me like that. I can have your job like this." The Mayor snaps his fingers.

"Ah, you do that. Then it will be you and me in this parking lot, working things out. You cool with that?"

"You just marked yourself."

Alaric mutters with a chuckle, "Ok."

The Mayor looks back at Tyler who starts walking away, and he follows him. Jeremy is trying to contain a smile. Alaric looks over at him.

Alaric asks Jeremy, "You all right?" He nods.

"That was awesome, Ric," I reply with a smirk.

I walk back to Alaric's apartment. I take a shower and go to my bed and try to sleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, I walk out of my room and see Ric.

"Morning, Ric," I greet walking past him.

"Hey, Adele, I'm sure you figured out about that Logan guy being a vampire."

I nod, "Yep."

"Well, uh, don't worry about it because I took care of him last night," Alaric informs me.

"Thanks for dealing with it anyway, Ric."

"No problem."

I walk out of the apartment and dial Dean, who I am still pissed at for making me leave. He picks up on the second ring.

"Ade? What's wrong?" Dean asks, on alert.

I sigh. "Nothing's wrong, Dean. Can't a girl call her older brother?"

"Don't you have school?"

"Yeah. I'm on my way now. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"So not good," I figure out. "Me neither, Dean. You're not alone."

"I know that."

"Do you?"

Dean sighs, "Yes. How's school and life over there?"

"Normal mostly which is weird, given our lives. I made some friends."

"Really?"

I chuckle. "No need to sound shocked."

"No," Dean says. "It's just odd especially for someone with your personality."

"Hey! I'm awesome. Anyways I made friends with a guy named Jeremy and Matt and then this girl named Caroline."

"That's good. I gotta go. Stay safe."

"I will. I promise."

I hang up and sigh, knowing my brother is probably drinking right now. We are in bad shape. We are shattered beyond repair. At least Dean has Lisa and Ben. Bobby's in South Dakota, and here I am living with a vampire hunter, trying to have a semi-normal life. I am almost certain Ben is Dean's biological son. Just saying.

Alaric and I are at his car later that day, searching for his missing ring.

"Hey, Mr. Saltzman! Adele!" Jeremy greets walking over to us.

"Hey," I welcome.

"Hey, Jeremy. I, uh, can't find my ring. I took it off for the gym, and thought I put it...there it is!" Alaric says, finding his ring. "Losing family heirlooms. Bad. How's your extra credit coming? You pick a topic yet?"

Jeremy answers, "Mystic Falls, the Civil War era."

"What's the angle?" Alaric questions.

"My family. I found a journal of an ancestor who lived in the 1800s. And the Gilberts were one of the original Founding Families of Mystic Falls. So..."

"That sounds good."

Jeremy leaves and I follow him. "So how do you know Mr. Saltzman?" he asks me.

I answer, "Uh, he's a family friend. I'm staying with him right now."

"Where's your family?"

A wave of sadness washes over me. "In Illinois. They've got some stuff to deal with there," I lie. "So what's the extra credit for?"

"Uh..."

"Hey, if you don't want to tell me, that's cool. Sorry for asking. It's none of my business."

"Nah, it's just the first half of the semester, I wasn't doing too well so Mr. Saltzman is giving me a chance to make it up," Jeremy answers.

I smile slightly, "Well that's nice of him."

"Yeah."

I walk away from Jeremy and get to class. The day goes by boringly.

The next day, after school I go back to the Grill and bet on winning a game of pool, and I win epically.

"How did you learn how to play like that?" the guy asks me.

"My brothers taught me. Thanks for the $20 by the way," I smirk as I grab the $20 bill on the pool table and walk away after a wink at the guy.

Then I walk over to Ric, who is at the bar. "Hey, Ric."

"Are you just going to keep stealing people's money?"

"It's not stealing. They know what they signed up for," I tell him, pocketing the $20.

"Do they? I saw you practically drown that guy in the game," Ric tells me, "and I'm pretty sure that's not the first time."

"Nope. I did it to Tyler Lockwood too."

Alaric chuckles.

"Don't judge me," I tell him.

"Are you going to the decades dance?" he asks me.

"Yeah. Which decade is it again?"

"50's."

"Great. Thanks. I gotta go get a 50's outfit. Bye." I walk away from Alaric and head towards a clothes store. I find an outfit and pay for it.

I go back to the apartment and get dressed. Then I grab my gun and a syringe of dead man's blood, and I tuck the syringe in my jacket and the gun under my shirt. I grab any back up essentials and put it in my bag. You never know what you could need.

I put my bag on my shoulder and walk out of the apartment. I walk over to the school and enter the gym. I see Alaric and wander over.

"What's in the bag?" he asks curiously.

"You really want to know?" I question.

He replies, "Probably not. Why did you bring that?"

"I literally have over a hundred of enemies that can show up at any time so I'm sorry for being precautious," I snap. I sigh and apologize. "Sorry, Ric."

Then Jenna walks up to us. "Alaric. Adele."

"Hey," Alaric says. "Look at you."

"I figured I'd stand out less if I dressed up."

Ric chuckles. "Liar."

"Ok, I'm a sucker for the decade dance," Jenna confesses. "I went to school here, you know. They do the sixties and seventies, too, FYI."

"Oh. Can't wait. Can I get you a drink? I hear the punch is real boss," Ric states.

Alaric and Jenna walk off, and I leave to try to find Jeremy or Caroline. Matt and Tyler would be fine too, but I don't think Tyler likes me very much.

I walk over to the punch bowl where Elena is standing. "Hey."

"Hey, Adele."

Caroline and her friend, Bonnie walk over to us. "Having fun?" Elena asks.

"No," Caroline answers, "but this took about 2 hours, so I'm at least staying half of that."

Caroline, Elena and I laugh, but Bonnie looks off into the distance. "What's Damon doing here?"

Damon? Where have I heard that name before?

"He wanted to come. I promise. He'll behave," Elena says.

Caroline asks, "So what is this, like, a threesome now, you and the Salvatore brothers?"

"No, but if I'm gonna be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon. It's not like I can kill him."

"There's a thought," Bonnie says.

Caroline offers, "Mmm. I'll help."

"What's so bad about this Damon guy?" I question, confused.

"Doesn't matter. Just steer clear, Adele," Caroline tells me.

I promise, "I'll try."

Elena wanders off, and I make myself a cup of punch. A gorgeous dark haired guy with bright blue eyes approaches us.

"Hi, Bonnie. Wanna dance?" he asks.

Bonnie says, "I'm out of here." Bonnie and Caroline look at him with disgust. Bonnie starts to walk away but he blocks her.

"Please give me another chance."

Bonnie doesn't respond and moves around the guy, walking away from him. Caroline glares at him. "Back off, Damon."

Caroline follows Bonnie. The guy who is Damon watches them leave. Then he turns to me.

"So you're Damon," I say.

"Yep, and who might you be?"

"Adele."

Elena and a light brown haired guy with green eyes approach Damon and I.

"Where did they go?" Elena asks.

Damon replies, "I don't know."

The other guy asks, "What did you say to them?"

"I was perfectly polite."

"He was," I confirm.

"Who are you?" questions the guy.

"Adele Winchester. You?"

"Stefan Salvatore," he offers his hand, and I shake it.

"Elena, would you like to dance?" Damon asks her.

"I would love to," she replies. Elena turns to Stefan. "May I have this dance?"

Stefan lends her his arm and she takes it. Elena looks up Damon with a devilish smile. Damon rolls his eyes. Elena and Stefan go onto the dance floor.

"That was low," I mutter.

Damon shrugs, "I'm used to it."

"Still. What did you do anyways? They don't exactly seem to like you," I notice.

"Eh. This and that. It doesn't matter. So you're new in town?" Damon asks.

"Yeah. Moved here almost a week ago."

"What brought you into town?"

I answer honestly, "My brother thought I needed a fresh start. So he sent me here with a family friend."

"Where's this brother of yours?" Damon asks.

"Illinois."

"Who's the family friend?"

I look at him with an eyebrow raised. "What's with all the questions?"

"Sorry," he apologizes. "I just like to learn about the new people in town."

"Okay... the answer to your question is Alaric Saltzman. Now if you'll excuse me." I walk past him. "Nice meeting you, Damon."

"Great meeting you too, Adele," I hear him say.

Later, I go back over to the punch bowl where Jeremy is working. "Hey, Jeremy," I greet with a smile.

"Hey," Jeremy says.

A brown haired girl walks over and carries three stacks of paper cups over to Jeremy who takes them from her.

"Adele meet Anna."

"Hi," she greets. "Do you go to school here?"

"Yeah. Just moved here this week," I answer.

"Cool," Anna says.

"You don't go to school here. You know, you don't have to help," Jeremy tells her.

"Oh, I don't mind. It's fun. Oh, um, yeah. Before I forget, can I borrow your ancestor's journal?"

"Why?" Jeremy questions.

"You said I could read it."

Jeremy replies, "Uh, I don't have it."

"Oh. Well, obviously you didn't bring it here, uh, but I can walk you home," Anna offers. What's the deal about the stupid journal?

"No. I mean, I gave it to my history teacher."

"Wait. Why did you give it to him?" Anna asks him.

Jeremy answers, "Because he wanted to read it."

"You know, you shouldn't be giving that to just anybody."

"But I should give it to you?" he questions.

"Loan. Loan it to me."

Jeremy says, "Well, I loaned it to Mr. Saltzman."

"Maybe it's in his classroom. We can get it back." I furrow my eyebrows in confusion at her persistence.

"What's the big deal with this stupid journal?" Jeremy leans across the table towards Anna. Suddenly, Anna's eyes begin to change. Automatically, I reach behind me for my gun before stopping, realizing I can't do anything in public.

"Your eye," Jeremy says, confused.

Anna blinks and turns around. "Um, there's something in it. Forget it. I - I gotta go." Anna walks away.

"That was weird," I say.

"Yeah, well she can be weird."

"So how do you know her?" I ask, looking at him curiously.

"Uh, we met at the town library. She helped me with an extra credit assignment," Jeremy tells me.

"The one for Alaric Saltzman class?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. What did you write the paper about, if I may ask."

"The town's animal attacks and how my ancestor Jonathan Gilbert thought it was vampires," Jeremy answers.

"And the family journal, that was your source?" I guess.

"Yeah."

"Huh, Cool," I say. We talk a little more, and then I leave.

I start to walk away when Elena Gilbert's phone rings, and I see her have a terrified look. She looks around the room in panic. Someone is threatening her. I follow her eye line and see a guy standing near Jeremy, talking on the phone. Elena slowly backs out and runs out the door. I follow her for her protection.

Elena and I run down the corridor, looking behind us to see if the guy is following. We turn into another hallway and comes to a pair of doors. I attempt to open the doors but they are chained shut. We turn back around and see the guy walking calmly towards us. We rushes down a different corridor, and Elena opens the door to the cafeteria. Elena and I run across the room and tries to open another set of doors which are also locked. Across the room, the guy flings open a set of double doors and before we can move, he vamp-speeds towards us. I pull out my gun and shoot him a few times. He slows down for a minute, then he vamp speeds at me and bites my neck. I shoot him again and he falls back. I grab the mop and break it in two. Then I ram the stake in his stomach. Stefan and Damon fling the doors open and see the guy with the stake in his stomach.

"Hey, dickhead. Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk," Damon says.

"Tell that to her," he spats, looking at me.

I grit my teeth and mutter, "You deserved it."

"Do you feel like talking?" Stefan asks.

"Screw you," the vampire mutters.

"Uh. Uh. Not very nice." I mutter.

Stefan grabs the part of the mop in his stomach and move it down so the tip is scraping against the vamps heart, and he shoves it deeper.

The vampire groans in pain. "Wrong answer," Stefan says. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because it's fun," he answers, and Stefan shove it in deeper. I'm about to chop the guys head off.

"What do you want with Elena?" Stefan asks.

"She looks like Katherine," the vampire says.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. Who's Katherine? Stefan, Elena, and Damon all look shocked.

"You knew Katherine?" Damon asks.

The vamp laughs. "Oh. You thought you were the only ones. You don't even remember me."

Damon leans towards the vampire. "Tell me how to get in the tomb. Hmm?"

"No," he says. Stefan grabs the stake and plunges it in deeper. "The grimoire," he gives in.

"Where is it?" Damon asks, and Stefan plunges the stake even deeper.

"Check the journal. The journal. Jonathan's journal. Jonathan Gilbert's." What is it about that god damn journal? What the hell is a grimoire? I feel like I've heard of that before.

"Who else is working with you?" Stefan questions.

"Who else is there?" Damon interrogates.

The vampire says, "No. You're gonna have to kill me."

The Salvatore brothers exchange looks and Damon takes the stake out of his stomach and shoves it into his chest, piercing his heart. The vampire's skin turns gray and veins show as the guy falls down, dead. What? The only way to kill a vampire is through decapitation. And they sure don't look like this when they die.

I grab my gun and step back. "What the hell?" I question them.

"Put down the gun," Damon says.

"Give me a reason why."

Damon answers, "We're not going to hurt you. Right Stefan?"

Stefan is looking at the blood on my neck.

"Stefan?" Elena questions.

"I'm fine," he chokes out, tearing his eyes away from the blood. "Damon's right. We won't hurt you."

"How did you kill him?" I question. "Vampires can only be killed by decapitation."

"Sorry to inform you, Princess, but your facts are wrong." Damon looks at the door where Ric is passing. "I'll handle that."

He vamp speeds away, and I look at Stefan. "What is he going to do?"

"He's not going to hurt him. He's just seeing what Alaric knows," Stefan answers. I see him fidget. I reach in my bag and grab a tissue. I wipe the blood off for Stefan's sake. "Are you going to be alright?" he asks me.

"I've had worse," I mutter. I'm in a room with a vampire, and I'm not trying to kill it. It feels weird.

"So you're a hunter?" Elena asks me.

"Yup. Who is Katherine?"

"She's a vampire who looks exactly like me," Elena answers.

"Yeesh. Creepy. So you're a doppelganger?" I remember coming across the term somewhere during research before.

Elena nods, "Yeah."

"Got it. And you and Damon are vampires?"

"Yes," Stefan replies.

"Great," I mutter, sitting down at a table and pulling out the syringe.

"What is that?" Elena asks curiously.

"Dead man's blood," I answer. "It's sort of like a poison to vampires. Like acid to us."

"Like vervain," Elena says.

"Vervain?" I ask, curiously.

"It's an herb that's toxic to vampires. How do you not know if you are a hunter?" Stefan asks me.

"I think there are two different types of vampires."

Damon comes back into the room. "He's clean. He doesn't know anything."

I hop off the table and walk up to Damon. I stab him in the shoulder with the syringe. "What was that for?" he asks, and I can see annoyance in his eyes.

"It was a test. There are two different species of vampires. I am used to the other kind. Dead man's blood, what I just injected you with, would have caused you pain if you were like the other type of vampires."

Damon's eyes widen for a second.

"Can someone please tell me what is so freaking important about the Gilbert journal?"

"Why?" Damon asks. "Did someone else ask for it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." I walk towards the door only to be blocked by Damon. "Get out of my way, Damon."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll shoot you and then cut your head off. Move."

Damon steps to the side, hands raised. "You know it would be easier if you were on our side."

"I'm on team save people so I guess we are on opposite sides."

"Don't judge us so quickly," Damon says. "You don't know us."

"No, but I've been hunting since I can walk. It's in my blood. I save people and hunt things. It's the family business." I push past Damon and walk out of the school cafeteria. I cover up the blood on my outfit with my hair, and I walk out of the school and start to head back to Alaric's apartment.

As I walk down the street, a guy blocks my path. "Winchester," he says as his eyes flicker black.

"Not tonight," I groan. The demon swings a fist at my face, and I duck, narrowly missing it. I throw a punch at its jaw. "Are you really just here to fight?"

He punches me, and actually hits me. "I guess so." I fight back and get a few bruises, but I end up pinning him down. Then I start saying the exorcism. "Exorcizamus te, Omnis Immundus Spiritus, Omnis Satanica Potestas, Omnis Incursio Inferniis Adversarii, Omnis Iegio, Omnis Congregato, et Secta Diabolica. Ergo, Draco Maiedicte. Ecciesiam Tuam Secri Tibi Facias Iibertate Sevire, te Rogamus, Audi Nos!" The demon leaves the person's body, and the person looks up dazed.

"You alright?"

He pushes himself up, wincing slightly. "Yeah, I'm alright. What happened?"

"What do you remember?" I question.

"Not much. I remember black smoke coming towards me and that's it." Huh, most possessed people remember something from the time they were possessed.

"What's your name?"

"John."

"Nice to meet you, John. I'm Adele." I tell him what happened to him in a brief summary. Then I walk into Alaric's apartment, and I change clothes after a cold shower and go to bed. Stupid Vampires. and demons.

The next morning, I get dressed and look in the mirror. There is a light bruise on my cheek and a scratch. Damn demon. "You alright?" Alaric asks me.

I answer, "Yep. Just peachy. Got into a fight last night."

"Supernatural or..."

"Supernatural," I reply, sighing.

"I'm sorry. I know you came here for a normal life."

"Yeah, well," I state, "I'm a Winchester. There's no such thing as a normal life."


	4. Chapter 4

A few days later, I am at Mystic Grill, and I see Damon Salvatore. He has his eyes on Jeremy and his friend Anna.

"Do you know her?" I question, sliding into the seat next to him.

"I thought you wanted to steer clear," Damon says.

"I did, but that's impossible. So do you know her?"

"Yeah," Damon answers. "We go way back."

"How far back?"

"1864," he says, turning to look at me. "Whoa. What happened?"

"Got into a fight on my way home a few days ago. It's no big deal," I tell him. "What are you up to?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're up to something. I can tell. What is it?"

Damon answers, "I'm trying to free a girl from a tomb with the help of my brother and his girlfriend."

"Why is she in a tomb?" I question.

"145 years ago the founders of this town tried to burn her and 26 other vampires alive. I asked someone to protect her and she did."

"I'm surprised you're actually answering all of my questions." I tell him, shocked.

"So am I," Damon mutters.

"Then why are you?"

He answers, "No idea."

"Well this conversation has been fascinating, but I need to make a call so bye."

I get off of the chair and start walking away from Damon. I leave Mystic Grill and start walking to Alaric's apartment. Then I pull out my phone and dial Dean.

"Hey, Dean," I greet.

 _"Ade, how are you holding up?"_ he asks.

"Decent all things considered. How's Lisa and Ben?" I font even ask how he is because I know the answer.

 _"They're good."_  
I hear Dean take a swig of his beer. "Still drinking then?" I ask.

 _"Do you blame me?"_ he questions.

I sigh sadly. "No. Try to pull yourself together, Dean. I know it's hard and practically impossible. I know. But try for Sammy's sake."

 _"He's in hell, Ade. And not even regular hell. Lucifer's cage,"_ Dean says, and I hear him take another swig of the beer.

A tear falls down my face. "I know," I choke out. "I know, Dean. And if I had a chance to do anything, and I mean anything to save him, I would."

 _"Don't,"_ Dean tells me. _"I don't want you to risk everything to save him. I don't want you to be shoved in the pit, Ade."_

"I could say the same to you," I tell him.

 _"Promise me."_

"I gotta go, Dean," I tell him.

 _"Promise,"_ Dean says commandingly.

I sigh sadly. "I promise I won't sell my soul."

 _"Good,"_ Dean says, taking another swing of his beer.

"I gotta go," I tell him sadly as I approach Alaric's apartment.

 _"Bye, sis,"_ he says.

I smile sadly, "Bye."

I hang up the phone and go to my room. I pull out a beer from my bag that I brought. I pop it open and drink the whole bottle slowly.

The next day, I wander the town and go to Mystic Grill. I go up to Tyler who is practicing pool. "Hey, want a rematch?" I question.

"No way," Tyler replies immediately.

"Scared I'm going to beat you?" I ask. He gives me a look. "Fine. How about no money. Just two high school kids playing pool."

"I don't know..." Tyler says unsure.

"Oh, come on," I plead. "Just one game." I give him an adorable pleading puppy dog look and hold out one finger.

"Okay, fine," he gives in. "One game."

I smirk at my success and grab a pool stick.

"Ten kegs? You know how much damage we could do with ten kegs? Duke's got it all hooked up," Tyler tells Matt, who is washing a table, talking about a party.

"Duke's a douche," Matt says.

"Yeah, a douche with ten kegs. Aka, my new best friend." Jeremy scoffs from a table near us. Tyler asks, "What's the problem, Gilbert?"

"Don't have one, Lockwood," Jeremy answers.

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

Matt questions, "Do you ever get bored of it?"

"Of what?"

"Yourself."

I laugh quietly and so does Jeremy.

"Keep laughing, buddy. You too, Winchester."

"Oh, I will," I smirk as I shoot the eight ball into a hole. "I win." Tyler blinks in surprise, having not even realized how close I was to winning. "Bye, Lockwood." I walk away from him and take a seat next to Jeremy.

"Hey, Adele," he greets.

Caroline enters the Grill and walks over to us. "Hey, Jeremy, Adele. Where is Elena? I've been texting her and Bonnie all day about Duke's party."

"Uh, she went somewhere with Stefan," Jeremy answers.

Caroline sighs. "I am so not going to be one of those girls who disappears just because she has a new boyfriend."

"Me neither," I say. "Who is Duke?"

"Some guy that graduated a couple of years ago. And he throws a party every time he comes home from Duke."

Jeremy asks, "Wait, Duke goes to Duke?"

"His real name's Bob or something. He's a total ass, but he buys the beer. You know, you should come. Both of you"

"Uh, yeah, I - I don't think so."

"No, seriously. Everyone goes. Even quiet loner little brothers. Think about it. Are you going to go, Adele?"

"Yeah," I reply. "I think I might."

"Great, well I'll see you there." She leaves and walks over to Matt.

"So you're going to go to the party?" Jeremy asks.

"Yeah. It'll be a normal high school thing. I need to get into doing things like that."

"Have you ever been to a high school party?" Jeremy asks me.

"Honestly? No," I answer.

"Wow."

"Yeah... I'm not exactly a normal partying high school student."

Jeremy says, "Me neither. Not anymore."

"Well I gotta go. See you around," I smile at him. Then I walk over to Tyler. "Hey. When's the party?"

He tells me the time and place, and I walk out of Mystic Grill. I go back to the apartment and get ready for the party. I take a shower, and then I pull on jeans and an outfit which consists of like four layers, but that is Winchester style. I grab my bag and shove my angel blade in it. I also put a container of salt and a few things to cover it up. I slip my gun under all the layers of clothes. You can never be too precautious.

Then I walk out of Alaric's apartment and make my way to the party near the cemetery. I grab a beer and see Tyler walking towards Jeremy. Oh, God. I jog over to Jeremy just in time for Tyler to reach him.

"Hey man, uh, you got any weed?" Tyler asks him.

Jeremy looks at him incredulously, "Wait, you're kidding me, right? You act like a total dick every time we cross paths, and now you wanna party with me?"

"Lighten up, Gilbert. I'm just asking you a question."

Jeremy says, "Look, I don't get you man."

"It's a party. You're a partier. There's no need to psychoanalyze it," Tyler tells him.

"I don't party anymore and even if I did, it wouldn't be with you."

Tyler starts to walk away. "No problem. Carry on just standing there. By yourself. All alone. The enemy of fun. Do you even have any friends?"

"Yeah, he does," I snap, and Tyler turns away. Jeremy turns around and his friend, Anna the vampire, appears.

Jeremy chuckles. "Thank God."

"Weird hello, but okay. What's the matter?" she asks him.

"It's nothing. Thanks," he says looking at me.

"No problem," I smile.

Anna suggests, "Come on. Let's take a walk."

Jeremy looks at me, and I can tell what he's thinking. "Don't worry about me. I'll just take a walk and drink." To prove my point, I take a sip of my beer.

"If you're sure..." Jeremy trails off.

I smile at him. "I'm sure."

"Okay."

Jeremy and Anna walk off with smiles on their faces and their arms around each other. I take a swing of my beer and follow them at a distance. I've got to make sure she doesn't do anything to Jeremy. Nothing happens for a while, but then someone comes from behind Jeremy and hits him on the head. He falls to the ground unconscious. Immediately, I put down my beer and get ready for action. Anna goes off someplace and the other guy picks up Jeremy and carries him in the same direction.

I stop in my tracks as I hear a conversation.

"Dark down there?" the vampire asks Stefan who was kneeling down and grabbing the can of gasoline. Stefan straightens up, looking at Ben. Jeremy lies at Ben's feet.

"I thought I told you to leave," Stefan says.

"I considered it. Then I thought, screw you."

Anna says, "Hey, hero. I'm going down there to get my mother."

"I can't let you do that," Stefan tells her.

"Well, Ben's about to make a main course out of Elena's little brother. So, you can stop me or him. Your choice." Anna vamp speeds into an underground place.

"Do you really think that she cares about you?" Stefan asks the vampire. "Ham? You're disposable."

"I don't care. She already gave me what I want."

"Are you going to say 'eternal life'?" questions Stefan. "Are you really that stupid?"

The vampire moves closer towards Stefan. "You know, I've heard about you. You don't feed. You're not strong enough to beat me." Ben rushes at Stefan. I pull the angel blade out of my bag and prepare myself for an attack. Stefan thrusts his arm, easily knocking Ben to the ground. Stefan picks up the hose connected to the gasoline can. Ben gets up and looks at Stefan. "Is that all you got?"

"No," I say from behind Ben, and I swing the angel blade with a good bit of pressure, and the vampire's head falls off his body.

"You're good," Stefan compliments.

I smile. "Thanks. What's going on?"

"Come on and find out." Stefan runs at human speed over to the underground entrance, and I follow him.

"Where's Elena?" Stefan asks.

Bonnie replies, "Damon took her inside."

"What?!" Stefan runs towards the entrance of the tomb. The woman, who I presume is Bonnie's grandmother, grabs his arm.

"Stefan!" Bonnie's mother says. "If you go in there, you won't come out."

"What did you do?"

"Opening the door didn't remove the seal, it just opened the door," Bonnie's grandmother says.

I ask, "What's the seal?"

"Some seals keep vampires from entering. This one keeps them from coming out."

Stefan realizes, "Elena's human. She can leave. Anna and Katherine can't. Damon can't. You were never planning on breaking the spell, were you?"

"I told you. I will protect my own. Elena can get out. That's all that matters."

"What are you doing here, Adele?" Bonnie asks me curiously.

I reply, "I'm a hunter. I've known about all this crap," I gesture around me, "since I could talk."

"That sucks. Nobody tried to keep you out of it?"

I sigh. "My father did the opposite. He made sure I was in on it."

"Wow," Bonnie says shocked.

"Yup. Welcome to my life."

Suddenly there's a scream coming from inside the tomb. I can only guess it's Elena. Stefan dashes into the tomb, and Bonnie chases after him. "Stefan!" Bonnie exclaims, and her grandmother blocks her from entering the tomb. "You can't just leave him in there, Grams!"

I rush past Bonnie and into the tomb with the bloody angel blade in hand. "No!" I hear as I get closer.

Stefan grabs Elena and pulls her up, pushing her towards the exit.

"Go. Go. I'm right behind you," Stefan says to her.

"Lets go, Elena," I say and trail right behind her as we make our way out of the tomb.

"Elena, Stefan..." Bonnie trails off.

"He's right behind me." Elena turns around, and I see Stefan standing in the doorway. Elena walks up to him, worried. "Stefan, what are you doing?"

"It's gonna be okay. We'll fix it," Bonnie says as her and her Grams flip through a spell book. Witches. You know what, I'll deal with that later.

"What is it?" questions Elena.

"I can't," Stefan tells her.

"Can't? Can't what?" Elena asks panicked.

I sigh. "There is a spell on the tomb door. Vampires can't get out. Aka you're boyfriend's stuck."

Elena's eyes widen and she looks at him. "You went in there not knowing if you were coming out?" At Stefan's face she gasps. "Oh, my god."

"I heard you scream."

"We gotta find a way to get you out of there. Both of you. We promised him."

"I know," Stefan tells her.

"That's what they're working on," I point my thumb at the witches. "So where are your hex bags?" I ask the witches.

Bonnie looks confused. "Hex bags?"

"She's talking about the other kind of witches. The ones who draw their power from demons," her Grams informs her.

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "And what do you draw your power from?"

"Nature." She answers. "The spell isn't going to last for long. I don't know how long we can keep it up."

Stefan takes the hint and goes further into the tomb to get his brother. I go immediately after him.

"What?" Stefan asks Damon.

Damon pulls out the blood bag. "She's not here!" Damon throws the blood bag at the wall. The blood splatters across it. Damon looks at us with anguish.

"Damon," I tell him, "I'm sorry Katherine not in here, but there's a spell on this tomb trapping you in it. Bonnie and her grandmother are trying to remove it, but they won't be able to hold it up for long. You need to get out while you still can. If you don't, I might use this blade to decapitate you." I wave my angel blade with a playful look on my face.

Damon looks at me distraught, thinking of Katherine.

"Come on, Damon. Please," I say. He nods, and all three of us make our way out of the tomb.

Elena immediately hugs Stefan and the spell drops. Stefan, Elena and I exit the tomb and run over to Jeremy, who is waking up.

"He's okay," Stefan says. Elena and Stefan kneel down next to Jeremy, who groans. "He's all right."

Damon exits the tomb, looking completely miserable. Elena gets up and walks towards him. She wraps his arms around him and places her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she says to him.

Then she moves away, and I wrap my arms around his neck in a hug. "I'm sorry. I know what pain feels like," I tell him in his ear.

"Why are you being so nice to me now?" he asks, pulling away.

"Maybe I'm a sucker for dark hair and blue eyes," I smirk. Damon's lips twitch upwards. "Do you need anything?"

Damon shakes his head. "Nah. I'm good."

I nod slightly. "If you do need anything..."

"I'll let you know," he tells me.

"Good night, Damon."

"Good night, Adele," Damon smiles sadly.

I walk away into the night and find my way back to Alaric's apartment, and I lay down on my bed and go to sleep. 


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the month passes by, and I don't see Damon. I don't know how he's handling, but I don't think it's well. Well nobody's gone missing so that's a plus. I wish I could check on him though. And I can already hear what Dean would say if he found out about this town. _"There are vampires and witches? And you haven't killed them yet? Why not? They're monsters, Ade. You can't trust them. They hurt people. Come on, Ade. I taught you better than this."_ And yet despite knowing Dean's reaction, I still want to see Damon to see how he's holding up.

I pull out my phone and dial Elena. "Hey, Elena? It's Adele."

"Hey, Adele," Elena greets.

"Hey, uh, what's Stefan and Damon's address?"

She tells me the address. "Why?"

"I'm gonna stop by to check on Damon," I answer.

"Are you sure that's the smartest move?"

"I'm a hunter, Elena," I remind her. "I can take care of myself."

"Okay, just, be careful. Damon's not exactly stable right now."

"Okay, Elena," I say. "Bye." I hang up the phone and start walking towards the Salvatore house.

When I get there I knock on the door. Stefan walks up behind me. "What are you doing here?" Stefan asks curiously.

"Checking on Damon," I reply.

Stefan asks, "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

"I'm a hunter. I can take care of myself."

"Right," Stefan says, walking through the hallway. I follow him.

Stefan and I reach the room Damon is in, and he turns the lights on. Damon has a few girls around him with blood on their neck.

"No! Buzzkill Bob," Damon groans. Stefan turns the music off. Damon looks up at him blearily.

"Greetings," Damon says and looks at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you. I was worried,"

"Well that's nice, but as you can tell, I'm fine."

Stefan asks him, "Can we talk?"

"Yeah."

"Without the Tri-Delts," Stefan says, looking at the girls in the living room.

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them. They're really good at keeping secrets."

Stefan, Damon and I talk in a private corner while the girls lounge around on the sofas. Damon has a bottle of booze in hand.

"You're worried about me. Both of you. That's nice. Don't be. There's no need. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Damon asks rhetorically. "I spent the last 145 years with one goal: get in that tomb. I succeeded. Granted, Katherine wasn't in there to be rescued, but why dwell? You know, it's so liberating not having a master plan, because I can do whatever the hell I want."

Stefan says, "That's kind of what I'm afraid of."

"Relax. I haven't killed anyone in," Damon sighs, "too long."

"Those girls?" I question.

"Will end up in their dorm with headaches, think they blacked out. Business as usual. Predictable you didn't pull me over here for a pep talk. So drink up." He pushes the bottle into Stefan's chest. "Spill it, brother."

"There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel in North Carolina at Duke," Stefan tells him.

"You wanna discuss the women in my past right now? Seriously?"

Stefan says, "You killed her."

"What's your point?" Damon questions.

"I just wanna know if you remember anything about her."

Damon replies, "Oh, it's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan."

"Well, think hard. It's important."

Damon grasps Stefan's shoulder and whispers in his ear. "Nothing is important, not anymore." He claps Stefan on the shoulder and pulls away, grabbing the bottle from Stefan's hand. I look at him sympathetically. I understand that feeling. "Great chat. I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief, which I'm sure you understand. 'TTFN', said the Tri-Delt. Heh." Damon walks back to the girls.

I walk over and plop myself on the couch, making myself at home as Stefan gives up and leaves the room.

"I'm surprised you didn't leave with Mr. Hero back there," Damon says, looking at me.

I reply, "Yeah, well like I said, I know what pain feels like, and I'm feeling sympathetic."

Damon vamp speeds next to me on the couch.

"Oh, yeah. What do _you_ know about pain? You're, what, 17?"

"Age is just a number. I've lost a lot," I tell him.

"Oh, yeah? Care to share?" he asks, offering me his bottle of bourbon.

I grab it from him and take a swig. "My mom died when I was 1. My dad died when I was 13. I saw my brother, Sam, die when I was 14. He came back to life, and my brother died a year later. He also came back, and since May, Sam has been dead again. Oh, and I lost a friend last year."

"Wow. How do your brothers come back from the dead like that?"

"It is a _long_ story. Which I don't know why I am telling you this. I never bitch about my problems to anyone, and yet I'm opening up to you."

"Maybe you need someone here in Mystic Falls to know," Damon says.

I clench my jaw. "It's stupid. I'm basically showing my vulnerability which I have been training to hide since I was a little kid. There's no point to it. Forget what I told you and don't tell anyone of this."

"Done," Damon says. "Though before forgetting, I thought I should say I'm sorry. Oh, and I hate chick-flick moments to, so this never happened."

"Done," I take another sip of his bourbon.

He leans forward and says seductively, "Would you like a distraction?"

"I'd love one," I reply with a smirk.

Damon leans closer, and our lips connect. Emotions flood through me, and I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He puts the bottle of bourbon down to the side of the couch, and we lay down on the couch, him towering above me. He licks my lips, asking for entry, and I oblige. Our tongues fight for dominance, but him being a vampire, wins. I taste the blood on his tongue and almost pull away, but the need for a distraction keeps me there. I run my fingers through his smooth, curly dark hair. He pulls off his shirt, and I see his bare chest. Damn, he is hot. Damon kisses me again. He starts unbuttoning my plaid shirt after shrugging off my jacket. He gets to the last button as I run my hand down his side, pulling him even closer. Then he pulls away.

"Let me take care of these girls. I'll be right back," Damon breathes out, his lips only centimeters from mine.

My heart flutters as I nod, and he presses his lips to mine again. Then he gets off and compels the girls not to remember anything. He vamp speeds away to get them to their dorm room. What have I done? I just made out with a vampire. A killer vamp at that. I button my plaid-shirt back up and put my jacket back on. Then I dash out of the Salvatore boarding house and run back to Alaric's apartment. There I lay on my bed and put my finger on my lips, remembering the feeling of his lips on mine. A smile forms on my lips. I pull out my phone and call Elena.

"Hey, Adele. Good to see you weren't killed by Damon," she says as she answers the phone.

"We had a good heart-to-heart. He's not as bad as you think."

"Just...be careful around him. Please," Elena suggest.

"Will do, Elena. I'll see you later. Bye," I hang up the phone and get out of bed.

I head to Mystic Grill after an hour of wandering. I see Alaric and Damon sitting at the bar, and I walk over there as Alaric gets up and leaves. I slide into the seat next to Damon. "Hey."

"You abandoned me," he says with a frown.

I tell him, "I don't do guys who are on the rebound."

"You didn't seem to have a problem when we were making out on the couch," Damon says, smirking as he leans towards me.

"Yeah, well, you're hard to resist. I've gotta give you that."

Damon continues to smirk as Sheriff Forbes walks over. "Daytime drinking, huh?" she asks him.

Damon replies, "It's all the rage."

"Listen, I need a favor."

Damon asks, "You ever been in love?"

"Excuse me?"

"Have you ever been so bent on someone, just to have your heart ripped out by them?"

Sheriff Forbes replies, "You forget I was married."

"Right. Gay husband." Damon gestures to the bartender. "She'll have what I'm having." The bartender pours another bourbon. Damon pats the other seat next to him. "Sit down."

Sheriff Forbes sits down. "There's a fundraiser here tonight that the Founder's Council is throwing. The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates, and, well, we're short a bachelor."

"Is this what you do when there's no, um..." He lowers his voice. "Vampires? Organize bachelor raffles?"

Sheriff Forbes laughs. "Oh, trust me. At this point, I miss the vampires. Look, you're a hero to this town, Damon. I know most people don't know it, but you are, and you're single and a catch. Oh, come on, help me out. Carol Lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty-handed."

"You know, a room full of women clamoring to win a date with me. Sounds tasty." Damon grins.

She laughs relieved. "Thank you."

"One thing." Damon says. "Can you get information on someone for me? Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher. There's just something a little off about him, and I just - I just wanna make sure that the high school did their homework on this guy." Why does Damon want info on Ric?

Liz Forbes gets up. "You got it."

"Thanks."

She walks away, and Damon takes a swig of his bourbon.

"Bachelor, huh?" I ask with a smirk.

"Yup."

I grab Damon's bourbon from him and finish it. He looks at me with a tiny smile on his face and shakes his head slightly in amusement.

"Why do you want to know about Alaric?" I ask him curiously, looking at him with interest.

"I'm fact checking," he tells me.

"You want me to believe that story you told Sheriff Forbes?"

"Honestly? I'm seeing if I can find something to use against that guy. What do you know about him?"

"He's a vampire hunter," I answer. "His wife died a couple of years ago. Killed by a vampire. That's about it."

"Huh. Thanks."

"No problem. See you later, Damon." I get off the seat and walk away.

Later that day at the bachelor party, Carol Lockwood says, "Tickets for the raffle are now on sale. All proceeds benefit the annual Founder's Day celebration."

Caroline, Elena, Matt and I are all milling around at the front of the Grill. "He's already been hit on, like, 35 times. He's total cougar bait," Caroline says about Matt.

Elena and I say, "Impressive."

"More like embarrassing," Matt tells us. Caroline laughs and sees a woman enter the Grill.

Caroline greets, "Hi, Mrs. Donovan." So this is Matt's mom. She glances at Caroline with distaste and looks at Elena.

"Elena, honey."

"Hi, Kelly," Elena greets with a smile. Mrs. Donovan and Elena exchange hugs.

"Long time, no see. Who are you?" She looks at me.

"Adele Winchester. I'm new in town," I answer.

"Nice to meet you."

Elena asks Mrs. Donovan, "How are you doing?"

"Oh, same old. Oh. Matty tells me you broke his heart."

"Mom," Matt groans.

"Just kidding. Calm down. He found his rebound girl." She glances over at Caroline. What a bitch. "Oh. Here you go, sweetheart. However many that'll buy." She extracts some money and hands it to Caroline, who takes it with a small smile. "I just hope I don't get Bachelor 3. I dated him in high school. Not impressive. In any way."

Matt shakes his head, embarrassed. Caroline hands Mrs. Donovan her tickets and she takes them.

"Very exciting." Mrs. Donovan walks off into the Grill.

Elena turns around, and she and Alaric stare at each other for a moment before Alaric walks off and Elena turns back around with a dissatisfied look.

"What was that about?" I ask her in a hushed whisper.

"I just found out his dead wife is my birth mother," she replies in the same tone. My eyes widen.

"And what do you do, Bachelor Number 3?" Carol Lockwood asks the bachelor.

He replies, "Yeah, I'm a plumber."

"Well, isn't that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers. Moving on. Number 4, 'Alaric Saltzman.' Wow. That's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?"

Alaric answers, "I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High."

"Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one's a keeper. What do you teach?" Carol asks.

"History."

"History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy."

Alaric looks over at Damon. Damon places his hand up to his ear, sarcastically anticipating a response. Alaric says, "Uh, well..."

Carol pulls the microphone away. "He's probably saving the best stories for his date." She moves down the line. "And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."

"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card," Damon says. Isn't that the truth?

"Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?" Carol asks.

"Oh, yeah. L.A., New York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually. I think-I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric?" Damon turns to look at Alaric, who does the same. "Yeah, because I- I know your wife did."

Oh, God. This can't be good. What is Damon about to do? From beside me, Elena's face starts to falter. Stefan makes his way over to her.

"I had a drink with her once. She was-she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? Cause she was - Delicious. Mm! Mm, mmm mm."

Damon killed Alaric's wife/Elena's mother. Elena's mouth hangs open. Her eyes filled with tears as she stares at Damon. Jenna looks over at her. "Are you okay?"

Elena replies, "I just need some air."

Elena gets up and walks past Stefan, out of the Grill. Stefan and I follow her. Outside, Elena paces around. Stefan exits the Grill and approaches her. She turns to face him. "He killed her? Damon was the vampire that killed her?"

"I don't know what happened. Alaric said that they never found the body," Stefan says. I look at Elena sympathetically.

"Oh, my god."

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. But I just-I wanted to know more."

"I was feeling sorry for him, hoping that this whole Katherine thing would change him. I'm so stupid," Elena says.

"No. You're not," I tell her.

"He doesn't know about the connection to you. I thought about confronting him, but he's already so on edge," Stefan says.

"Why are you protecting him?"

"Because you're not the only one hoping that he might actually change."

I go back inside, and I walk over to Caroline.

"Hey, Caroline," I smile.

"Hey, Adele."

Mrs. Donovan walks over to collect her prize.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Donovan," Caroline says with a smile on her face.

"Okay, just stop. Stop trying so hard. This thing you're doing, this nice thing, it's fake. Like you. Like your mom. And for some reason, Matt fell for it, but that doesn't mean that I will. I don't like you, okay? So tell plumber boy I'll be at the bar."

"Okay," Caroline tells her.

Mrs. Donovan walks off, and Caroline looks hurt.

"What a bitch," I say. "Don't listen to her, Caroline. She doesn't know anything about you. Okay?"

Caroline nods, and I see doubt in her eyes.

"Caroline. Promise me you won't believe her."

"What if she's right?" Caroline asks me.

I look at her sadly, "She's not. I promise you. I happen to be good at reading people."

Caroline chuckles and nods. "Thanks, Adele."

I smile. "No problem. I gotta go. See you later, Caroline." I walk off to deal with Damon drama. I walk over to Elena as she bumps into Damon.

"Whoa. Easy there. Buy a ticket like everyone else."

"Can we buy a ticket?" I question, curiously.

Damon shrugs. "I don't know. I think its 18 and up."

"Then I'm out. I turn 18 in a couple of months."

"Did you enjoy that? Rubbing it in to Alaric Saltzman?" Elena questions.

"What?" Damon looks confused.

"Just as I was starting to think that there was something redeemable about you." Stefan walks up to Elena, Damon and I.

"Elena," he warns. Stefan shakes his head at Elena.

Damon looks from Stefan to Elena. "Am I missing something here?"

"Yup," I tell him. "Alaric's wife, Isobel, was the woman who gave Elena up for adoption." Damon gains a look of shock on his face.

"Go ahead," Elena says. "Reminisce about how you killed her." Elena shoves past Damon and walks away.

"Did you kill her" I question as Stefan follows Elena.

"No," he answers. "I turned her."

I sigh and shake my head sadly. "Why?"

"She begged me to," he answers.

"Wow. Why?" I ask.

"She wasn't happy with life. She wanted more. It happens."

I nod. "See you, Damon." I walk past him and sit down.

"37649," Carol Lockwood says, reading the ticket.

Many of the women in the crowd make disappointed sounds. Jenna raises her hand. "That's me.

"Congratulations." Mrs. Lockwood congratulates. Jenna walks up to Carol and takes her ticket. "And Bachelor Number 5, Damon Salvatore. 37552. Would you look at that? 37552. What are the chances? Me." She looks around for Damon "Where'd he go?"

I look around and see both Damon and Alaric gone. Crap. Alaric is probably going to do something stupid like go after Damon. I rush over to Elena and Stefan.

"Hey, guys. Alaric just left, and I'm afraid he's going to go after Damon."

"He has a right to. Damon deserves it," Elena says, upset and snarky.

"Yeah, well Damon's not all bad. Plus what do you think is going to happen if Alaric goes after Damon? He's only been in this business for a couple of years. Damon could over power him and kill him. Just think about that."

Elena's eyes widen at my words, and Stefan looks alert. "I'll go stop him." I only nod and, with that, he is off. I sigh in relief, not wanting Alaric killed. Or Damon for that matter.

Where did that come from? I'm a hunter. I shouldn't want him alive. Guess I shouldn't have made out with him.

I leave Elena and walk back to the apartment, hoping Stefan stops Damon from killing Alaric.

Later that night, Alaric walks in alive. Thank God. If something happened, I would be pissed at myself for not going with Stefan like I should have.

"Glad to see you're alright."

"No thanks to Damon. The guy killed me."

I frown. "Then how-"

"-am I alive?" Ric finishes, showing me his big tacky ring. "This ring brought me back. Isobel, my wife, gave it to me for protection against the supernatural, I guess."

"Man, you know how useful those rings would be if all hunters had them?" I comment.

"Yeah, well I'm tired so I'm heading to bed." Alaric starts to walk off.

"Being dead will do that to you!" I call out. Alaric chuckles, and I go to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, I wake up remembering my job. I'm a hunter. A Winchester. I shouldn't be playing nice with a couple of vamps. Stefan's alright for now, considering he feeds on animal blood like that other vampire I met a few years back, Lenore. Damon on the other hand... not so much. Screw his gorgeous good-looks. He's a killer, and if I see him screw up and kill someone again, I'll gank him. I take a shower and get dressed, and then I walk to school.

The school day goes by quickly. I hang out with Jeremy at lunch. Stefan, Elena, Caroline and Matt planned a double date. Like that will go well. Matt still has obvious feelings for Elena, and Caroline is probably trying to see how the date goes with that factor in play. I hope it goes down smoothly because Matt and Caroline are cute together. And wow, don't I seem like a normal person, pairing people together. Granted I did that with Cas and Dean, but Dean's in denial and has feelings for Lisa.

After school, I go to the Grill for a burger and coke. Stefan, Elena, Caroline and Matt are playing pool and having a good time, and Damon, Mrs. Donovan and someone else, I think Jeremy's aunt, are by the bar having drinks. I keep an eye on everything to make sure nothing bad happens because this town is crawling with bad supernatural luck. A g0uy stops Elena. Elena looks at him confused and worried, and she goes back to the table and shows Stefan a text. He gains a worried look on his face, and I'm instantly alert. I finish my drink and get up. Stefan shakes his head at me, obviously having figured out I'm keeping an eye out on things. I nod and sit down. Nothing happens for the rest of the night, except the four bringing their double date elsewhere.

The next day, I check on the boarding house to make sure everything's alright. "What are you doing here?" Damon asks after he answers the door.

I answer, "Stefan looked worried last night, and I wanted to make sure everything's alright."

"Well everything's fine."

I raise an eyebrow and point at the living room which looks like a fight occurred in there, especially the broken window. "That's fine?" I question. "What happened?"

Damon answers, "A couple of vamps from the tomb broke in and tried to kill us. We're fine. Thanks for the worry."

"Look, if vamps from the tomb are loose, we need a plan. And while I don't like you, they will be a huge pain in the ass for the town. So let me in."

"You don't like me?" he asks amused. "That's not what it seemed like when we were making out on the couch in the living room not too long ago."

My cheeks redden at the reminder, and I hiss, "Shut up. Anyways you killed Alaric."

"He came back to life."

"By a ring that you didn't know would bring him back."

"He came at me," Damon defended himself with a shrug.

I scoff, crossing my arms. "Right. And you couldn't protect yourself without killing him."

Damon shrugs again with a small smirk.

I fight the instinct to punch him, and I ask, "Are we going to deal with the tomb vampires or not?"

"Come on in," he says, holding the door wide open to let me in.

Elena arrives shortly after, and Stefan fills her in.

Damon blocks the hole in the window with a board. "I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night."

"Yeah. And then what? We turn to the rest of that house of vampires and say, 'Oops. Sorry?'" Stefan asks his older brother.

My lips twitch upward in amusement. "He's got a point."

"I can't believe you made a deal with her," Elena says.

Damon replies, "It was more like a helpful exchange of information. And it's not like a choice. She's... scary. Besides, she's gonna help me get Katherine back."

I thought we established Katherine doesn't want to see him, given she wasn't in the tomb and could have found him at any time.

"Of course she is. Damon gets what he wants, as usual. No matter who he hurts in the process."

"You don't have to be snarky about it."

"I woke up this morning to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb. I've earned snarky."

"How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?"

"I'm not blaming you, Damon. I've accepted the fact that you're a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities."

I look at Stefan. "Do you have popcorn? This is like an entertaining movie."

"In the kitchen," he replies. "But this won't last much longer."

Damon acts hurt at Elena's comment. "Ouch."

"This isn't being very productive. We're gonna figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires. Yeah? Hmm," Stefan reminds him.

"He's got a point," I agree. "This is getting nowhere.

Damon walks out of the room.

"I'm sorry," Elena apologizes as Stefan wraps his arms around her. "He just makes me so cranky."

"He makes everybody cranky," Stefan points out.

I get up and leave the room, knowing Stefan and Elena are going to have a moment, and I don't want to be there when they do.

When Elena leaves, I pour myself a little of Damon's bourbon and down it. Stefan leaves to go kill bunnies to gather strength for fighting the tomb vampires. An hour later, Stefan still hasn't returned. Damon and I try calling him, but Stefan doesn't answer. Damon tries calling Elena, but she doesn't answer.

"Maybe he's ignoring me and doesn't know your number. And Elena doesn't like me," Damon suggests. "He's probably fine."

"You're lying. You're worried too. Stefan should be back by now, and he isn't. And there are tomb vampires roaming the town, and there's an overcast where all vampires can go out. Not to mention they obviously don't like you." I gesture to the broken glass.

"You've thought this whole thing out."

"And you haven't?" I ask, eyebrow raised.

Damon sighs. "We'll check by Elena's and see if he's contacted her. If not, we'll worry."

I nod, and Damon grabs me. He vamp speeds me through the rain, and, in a second, we arrive at Elena's house.

"Whoa," I say. That was an interesting experience.

"Cool, right?" Damon asks, smirking, letting go of me.

I nod. Damon and I walk under the porch, and he calls Elena, only to have her not answer.

"Is she declining the call or..."

"Yeah. Come on." He knocks on the door.

Elena opens the door, and Damon and I walk in.

"You're ignoring me," Damon states.

"The 6 missed calls? Sorry. My phone is dead."

I ask, "Is Stefan here?"

A worried look washes over her face. "No. Why? Something wrong?"

"He went out in the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone. I figured he was here with you."

"And I thought he was in trouble," I add.

Worried, Elena pulls out her phone and dials Stefan's number. She puts her phone to her ear. After a second, she pulls it away. "It's going straight to voice-mail. Where could he be?"

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking." Damon and I say in unison.

Damon drives us in the direction of Pearl and the other vamps house. Elena and I sit in Damon's car, waiting for Damon to return. He argued with me about whether or not I should go with him, and he won, so I sit in the back of the car. Damon approaches, and Elena and I gets out into the rain under two umbrellas.

"What happened?" I question. "Where is he?"

"They have him. I can't get in."

"Why not?" Elena asks.

Damon explains, "Because the woman who owns the house is compelled to not let me in."

"I can get in."

"You're not going in there."

"I'm going!" Elena exclaims, willing to do anything to save Stefan.

"You're not going in there."

"Why are they doing this? What do they want with him?"

"Revenge, right?" I question, having figured it out. "They want revenge."

Damon nods.

Elena says, "We gotta do something."

"I know."

"We can't let them hurt him. We gotta get him out of there."

Damon: I know. Elena, I know. But I don't know how to get him out.

"I've got an idea," I say, a smirk spreading across my face. "Of course the plan involves you so it's not the plan I would have liked."

Damon rolls his eyes. "It's not like you're the best company either."

"At least I don't kill people."

"Oh, please, like you haven't killed a single person in your hunting career."

"Guys!" Elena exclaims. "Cut it out. Now, Adele, what's your plan?"

"I go in and kill them all. We could possibly get help from Ric, and he might have an idea on how to get you in, Damon. Elena, you're staying in the get-away car."

"What? No-"

"Elena..." I trail off warningly. The last thing I need to do is have her die.

"No!"

"Come on," I complain.

"We should get going," Elena says. "But I'm not giving up on this argument."

We get in the car and head to Mystic Falls High. During the ride, I think of all of the people I have killed using the demon-killing knife or my angel blade. So many people I could have saved. Then there are those who I didn't kill but might as well have; Ellen, Jo, Ash, those people at that jail we tried to save that Lilith killed, and many others. I don't say a word the whole ride, wondering how I could have caused them to die. I remember multiple of their deaths like it happened yesterday.

"Adele," Damon's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"We're here."

"Oh," I say, heat rising in my cheeks. I get out of the Camaro, and we walk into the school.

Damon goes ahead of us and approaches Alaric

"You can't hurt me," I hear Alaric say as I near the hall where Alaric and Damon stand.

"Oh, I can hurt you, all right."

Elena and I turn the corner and look at Ric. Elena pleads, "Mr. Saltzman. We need your help."

Alaric agrees to go into his classroom to talk.

"Stefan's in the house. Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..."

"But your life is valuable," Damon finishes. "Yours, on the other hand is..."

"Stefan told me about your ring."

"What about it?"

"Let me recap...You tried to kill me. I defended myself. You died. Then according to my brother, your ring brought you back to life. Am I leaving anything out?

"Yeah. The part where I try and kill you again. Only this time, I don't miss."

Elena begs, "Mr. Saltzman. Please. It's Stefan."

"I'm sorry, Elena. But it's not my problem.

"Come on, Ric. Wouldn't it be great to kill a bunch of vamps?" I ask. "I haven't hunted in ages."

Ric questions, "Why are you helping him?"

"Help him? I'm not helping Damon. He's the dick who killed you and others. Stefan, on the other hand, is a good guy, and as long as he does not kill anyone in the town, he's on my good side. So I'm helping him."

"Well, leave me out of it."

Damon says, "That's a shame. Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife."

"You're lying," Alaric accuses.

"Am I? Why don't you ask her for yourself? Coward. Come on, Elena, Adele."

Damon and Elena start to leave, and I turn to follow but stop when I hear Ric say, "All right! Wait. I'll go." Alaric pulls out his arsenal of vampire weapons.

Damon smirks, "Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night."

"I've you to thank for that," Ric replies, bitterly.

I pull out a stake whitled and carved to look like a knife. "You made these?" He nods. "Nice job."

"What are these?" Elena asks, looking at the vervain darts.

Alaric replies, "Those are tranquilizer darts filled with vervain."

"Just get me in," Damon tells Alaric. "I'll get Stefan out."

"That's your plan? You're just gonna take them all on yourself?" Elena says, incredulously.

"Well, I'll be a little stealthier than that, hopefully."

"I'm going," I say.

Elena takes one of the vervain darts.

"Whoa. What are you doing?"

"I'm going with you guys."

"No. No way," Damon and I say.

"You need me. I'll get in. You could distract them, and then I'll get Stefan out."

"You'll get yourself killed. You're not going in there."

Elena states, "I'm going."

Damon looks at Alaric. "So, when you get me in, get out as quickly as you can. I know how to sneak around where they can't hear me. You'll basically just be in the way."

"Damon, now is not the time to be the lone ranger."

"Fine. Elena, you can drive the getaway car. You're not going in the house. Neither are you, Adele."

I open my mouth to protest, but Elena cuts me off. "You can't stop me. It's Stefan we're talking about here. You don't understand."

"Oh, I understand. I understand. He's the reason you live. His love lifts you up where you belong. I get it."

"Can you just not joke around for 2 seconds?"

"I can't protect you, Elena. I don't know how many vampires there are in there. That's how long it takes you to get your head ripped off. I have to be able to get in and get out. I can't be distracted with your safety. Or this will end up a bloodbath that none of us walk away from...Including Stefan. I know. I get it. I understand."

"If we're gonna go, let's go," Alaric says.

We drive back to Pearl's house, and I try to convince Damon to let me go with him.

"Just let me go," I tell him. "I can be useful. I have been a hunter my whole life."

"No," he refuses. "Look, I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but no."

"You know I am going to come anyways, no matter what you say."

Damon grabs my arm and pulls me away from the car. "If you being there is why my brother dies or our plan fails, I will kill you so fast you won't be able to call for help or fight back."

"Careful, Damon," I say. "Keep talking like that, and people will think you have a heart."

Damon narrows his eyes at me before walking back to the car, leaving me standing alone, drenched in the rain. He asks Ric, "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"I still think I should come," Elena comments from the back seat of the car.

"No," we all respond to her.

Alaric starts step 1 of the plan. When Alaric acts like he needs to use the phone, he gets inside and stakes the vampire (s?) in the room before turning on noise so vamps don't hear us. Then he opens the door for the owner to allow Damon to come in.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He's not allowed in the house," she says, and I groan.

Alaric tries, "I know that. But you've gotta make an exception."

"Get her out of the house. Now!" Damon orders. After Alaric brings her outside, Damon cups the woman's cheeks. "Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married?"

"No."

"Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?"

Miss Gibbons smiles, "No. It's just me."

"No? Good." Damon breaks her neck and promptly enters the house. My body stiffens. That's another innocent life he took.

"You were supposed to compel her," Alaric says.

Damon replied, "It doesn't work that way."

"She is human."

"And I'm not! So, I don't care. Now, get out of here. And get rid of the body!"

"You're a dick," I tell him as Alaric gets rid of the body.

Damon shrugs. "It's been said. Now let's do this."

I nod, and I pull out my steak from my waistband of my jeans. I'm used to putting weapons there so it didn't feel weird having a stake there. I also have my angel blade in my jacket in case I need it, as well as a vervain - filled syringe. A vampire comes in, and I quickly and quietly stake him in the back. It is much easier to kill these vampires.

We hide in the pantry, and a vampire comes in, turning off the blender and the running water in the sink. He heads to the pantry, and I open the door and stake him. He was too surprised to be able to fight back. Man, I was craving a good hunt. Oh, well.

Damon kills a vamp on our way to Stefan. He speeds ahead of me, probably hearing something my human ears can't pick up. A vamp speeds at me and shoves me back. I fly into the wall and groan. I push myself up and come at him with my stake. I duck as he reaches for me and put my leg behind his legs, knocking him onto the ground. I am about to stake him when he uses vamp speed to get behind me. I step on his foot hard, twist around and shove a stake through his heart. I look down at myself. Great. I'm soaked. I touch at the top left of my forehead and look at my hand. Blood. Awesome. I wipe off the blood and hope my bleeding has stopped before heading in the direction Damon went in.

I arrive and Elena was carrying Stefan out. I give her a 'What are you doing here?' look. Elena gestures to Stefan. I actually look at Stefan. He looks tortured and bloody. There is sweat on his body from the torture. He looks healed, minus the faint burn marks, but he still looks really weak.

Damon comes out and gestures to the house. We go back in, and Alaric comes with us. Together, we stake more of the vamps, but when we look outside of the house, a lot of vamps stand out there.

"How many of those vervain darts do you have?" Damon asks.

"One," Alaric answers.

I add, " I have one as well."

"Yeah, that's not going to be enough."

We back up inside the house and shut the door. We hear footsteps coming towards us.

"So, what you said to get me to do this, about my wife. It was a lie, wasn't it?" Alaric asks.

"Probably," I say as Damon answers, "Yep."

The woman I assume is Pearl walks into the house. She looks at the bodies of the dead vamps and the blood from when I used my angel blade once or twice.

"Stop. What's going on here? What did you do?"

"Me? Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother." Damon said, angrily.

"Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with," Pearl says.

"Our little arrangement doesn't work unless you learn to control them," Damon growls.

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

"Well, it did. If I had a good side...Not a way to get on it."

Damon, Alaric, and I leave the house. After a minute, I pull on Damon's arm. He turns to me. "What?"

I shove my stake into his stomach. "This is for that woman you killed. The next time, it will be in your heart," I whisper in his ear as he groans. "Don't ask me for help again unless people's lives are at stake, and by people, I mean humans."

I walk away from the older Salvatore and Alaric and head to Ric's house. When I get there, I take a quick shower and change into my night time clothes.


	7. Chapter 7

Monday morning I head straight to school. No detours. This gives me less chances of running into the older Salvatore. When I get there, I see Jeremy and walk over to him.

"Hey, Jeremy," I greet as I approach.

"Hey, Adele."

There was something in his voice... I don't know, but it didn't sound good. It sounded like he lost someone. I ask, "What's wrong?"

"I, uh- A friend of mine, Vicki, well, her- body was found." Jeremy looks down.

"Oh, my god. Jeremy, I'm sorry."

"She was more than a friend, actually."

I wrap my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. He falls into it, and I feel a tear slide down his cheek. He pulls himself from me, wiping the tear from his cheek, and says, "I don't need your pity."

"You think I pity you?" I ask incredulously. "Jeremy, I've seen more death than most people my age. I've lost people close to me. And I know that you don't want pity anymore than I do. I empathize you. I would never pity you, Jeremy."

Jeremy chuckles with a sad smile. "You know, you're still the biggest mystery I've ever encountered."

I smile slightly. "I hope that one day I can answer any question you have for me, but, for now, it must remain a mystery."

Jeremy nods.

"And of you ever need me, whether to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, or something important, I am here."

"I know," he says. "I, uh, I gotta get to class. I really don't need anymore tardies this semester.

"Okay," I nod, and he heads to class.

I walk through the school and see Matt and Elena talking. "I never really liked that guy" I hear Matt say as I near them.

"Does anyone?" Elena asks.

"Who are you talking about?" I question.

"Elena's Uncle John. He just came back to town and nobody wants him here," Matt answers.

My eyes widen. "What did he do?"

"Not any one thing. He's just not a likable guy on top of how he acts," Elena answers.

Matt says, "I'm here for moral support if you need me."

"Thanks, I think I'll suffer this one alone; you've been through enough."

"Thank you by the way, for just… for everything you did at Vicki's funeral. I couldn't have done it without you."

Wait-Vicki? Jeremy's girlfriend whose body was found? I observe Matt and figure Vicki must be Matt's sister or like a sister.

"Of course Matt." There is a long pause as they look at each other.

"Okay, this is awkward. I'm going to head to class. Bye, Matt, Elena."

"Bye, Adele." They say in unison, and I head to class.

At lunch, I see Jeremy sitting on a couch in the stoner din. Tyler got up from next to him and walks away. I sit next to him

"Hey."

"Hey. What are you doing over here?" Jeremy asks, a little shocked to see me.

"I could ask you the same thing," I say. Jeremy sighs, and I follow his eye sight to see a name written in chalk on the side of the school. Vicki. "Vicki. Did she hang out here?" Jeremy stays silent. "Sometimes it doesn't help to talk, but sometimes it does. It can feel like a weight lifted off of your chest."

"They say she ODed, but they found her body buried in the woods."

"That doesn't sound like an OD," I notice.

"Exactly," Jeremy says. "No one will listen to me."

I question, "What do you think happened?"

"I think someone killed her and then buried her," he answers.

I pull out a flask from my bag and offer it to him. He takes it and drinks. He recoil at the taste before taking another swig from the flask.

"Thanks," he says, handing it back.

After spending the rest of lunch with Jeremy, I finish the rest of the school day and head to Alaric's. Eventually, I receive a text from Elena. Come, please.

Me: What don't you guys understand about me not wanting to be involved?

Elena: Stop being stubborn and come. It's about Stefan.

Me: Will Damon be there?

Elena doesn't answer, and I groan. I throw on my jacket and put my gun in the waistband of my jeans and my angel blade in my jacket before running to Elena's house. I knock on the door, and Elena answers.

"Good you're here." Elena says.

I feel a gust of wind and spin around. Damon stands there. I groan.

"I asked you if he was here or coming here."

"You unhappy to see me?" Damon asks with a frown.

"Yep. I've been avoiding you the past few days. And I wish I could avoid you longer, but, alas, here we are. Thanks, Elena."

"Adele, thanks for the stake in my stomach," Damon glares at me.

"Oh, you have it out, and you are probably fully healed, too," I shoot back.

"Guys," Elena snaps. "Inside."

We walk inside, and I see Jeremy eating a bowl of cereal. I wave to him, and Elena tries to pull us up the stairs.

Damon says, "No, Elena. I won't go to your bedroom with you."

We enter her room, and Damon says, "Oh, just like I remember." Damon picks up Elena's teddy bear from her bed.

"Why has Damon been in your bedroom before?" I question.

"Why do you think?" he smirks.

Elena grabs a pillow and throws it at him. "Stop messing around."

He lays on her bed and takes the teddy bear with him. "Did you know that your uncle has been kicking at the founder's council?"

"What?"

"Yep"

"Perfect, we'll just add it to the list of how everything is falling apart."

"Hold up. What the hell is the Founder's Council?" I question.

"It's a group of people that are descendants from the people who started the town. They gather up and talk about vampires and what to do about them," Damon explains.

"So basically an anti-vampire club?"

"Pretty much," Elena says.

"Sounds like this Founder's Council and I have something in common."

Elena answers, "Yeah, but you tolerate them."

"I wouldn't say tolerate." I glare coldly at Damon. "Who is on the Founder's Council? John Gilbert obviously. Who else?"

"Caroline's Mom and Dad, Tyler's parents, and the Fell's. And a few others. We don't know everyone."

"And me," Damon adds with a grin.

I raise an eyebrow. "A vampire is on the anti-vampire council? That must be interesting."

"I'll have you know I am highly thought of on the Founder's council," he tells me.

"Uh huh. I'm sure. What did you do?"

"Killed Stefan's friend, and they think he killed Logan Fell," Elena answers.

"Hey, I had good reason for doing so," Damon says.

I question, "Oh? And what was your reason for killing your brother's friend?"

"I got the town off our backs, and it was for the greater good. And to make up for it, I didn't feed off of humans for a week. I adopted the Stefan diet."

"Oh, like that makes up for it," I say sarcastically.

"Hey, you turn into a vampire and try eating bunnies. It's disgusting." Damon looks at the broken lamp. "What happened right there?"

"Uh… nothing, Elena says, looking uncomfortable. "Look, I'm worried about Stefan. He says that everything's okay but he's clearly struggling. How long it is gonna take before he's going back to normal?"

"A few days. Give or take," Damon answers.

"It's been a few days."

"Give then, I don't know. What's the big deal?" He gets up and gives her the teddy bear.

"What happened to Stefan?" I question, confused.

"Long story short, when we helped rescue Stefan, Elena gave him some of her blood causing control issues. He'll be fine," Damon reassures.

"He's not himself Damon," Elena tries again.

Damon walks to Elena's dresser, opens a drawer, and looks in it. "Well, maybe his problem is that he has spent too long not being himself. " He takes a bra from the drawer."

Elena takes it from him and put it back in the drawer, and I smack him upside the head.

"Ow," Damon complains.

"Don't touch Elena's clothes."

"Please don't make me sorry for asking you," Elena says.

He takes a picture from the mirror, and she tries to take it back. "It is what it is Elena. The Stefan you know was 'good behavior Stefan', 'under control Stefan', 'Fight his nature into an annoying excessive level Stefan', but if you think there isn't another part to this, then you have not been paying attention."

Elena pulls the picture from him. "He's not you, not even close."

"Because he doesn't want to be me. That doesn't mean that deep down he's not." Damon looks at her and leaves.

"So, about this Founder's party, do I have to go?" I ask.

Elena answers, "No, but it would be a good idea to go. Everyone goes."

"So I won't be missed," I say, happy I don't have to go.

"No. You're going."

"But I don't even have a dress! Plus I hate the whole formal thing anyways."

"Too bad," Elena says. "You're going." She looks in her closet and pulls out a blue dress. "We are roughly the same size, so, here. Please, don't get blood on it, though. I have to wear it next week."

"I can't make any promises. My luck is crap."

"Fine." Elena takes the dress back and hands me a black one."Try this on." She pushes me into her bathroom.

"You don't have to do this, you know. I'm fine with not going," I tell her.

"Just try it on."

I sigh and shut the bathroom door. I quickly change into the dress and walk out of the bathroom.

"Look at you. You look great," Elena compliments before asking, shocked, "You have a tattoo?"

"Yeah. It keeps demons from possessing me. I wish we had it sooner…" I'll never forget the time Meg possessed Sam.

"You might want to wear a jacket," she suggested, looking at my scarred arms.

"I was planning on it. Now you know why I wear a jacket all of the time."

"Have you looked in the mirror? I'm debating on giving you the dress."

"No, don't do that," I protest.

"Too late. Have it. It is yours. Trust me. You will need it a good bit in this town," Elena says.

"Fine. Just let me go change out of it. The event isn't for a couple of hours."

I go into the bathroom and look in the mirror. I don't see what looks so great. I change out of the dress and get back in my usual clothes. A few hours later, I head to the Founder's Party. On my way out of Elena's house, which I have been hanging out in for the past few hours, I run into Jeremy.

"Adele?" he asks, shocked.

"What?"

"I never thought I would see you in a dress,"Jeremy states, checking me out.

"Your sister convinced me to go to the Founder's Party," I explain.

"You, uh, look hot- great, I mean," Jeremy stutters. "You should wear that to all of the founder's events and dances. It looks good on you."

I smile. "Thanks, Jeremy. Are you going to the Founder's Party?"

"Yeah. I'm planning on asking the Sheriff about Vicki."

"Oh. Okay. Maybe I'll see you there."

Jeremy nods. "Yeah, maybe. Look I gotta get dressed. Do you need a ride or…?"

"No. I will be fine. Thanks, though," I smile at his offer. "Bye, Jeremy."

"Bye, Adele."

I leave the Gilbert house and walk to the Founder's Party. I lean on the wall and watch. The mayor and Tyler stand talking to Ms. Donovan and Matt. I listen in because I am nosey and bored.

"I'm so glad you can join us tonight," Mayor Lockwood says.

Ms. Donovan thanks, "It was nice of you to reach out to us."

"This town is one big family, when we lose a member we all have to come together." Mr. Lockwood takes their hands. "Matt."

"Mayor."

Mayor Lockwood looks at Tyler and leaves, and Tyler he leaves too. Ms. Donovan says, "Well I guess dead kid rate a special greeting from the mayor."

Matt exclaims, "God mom!"

"I need a drink."

I do, too, I realize as she leaves. I head towards the bar.

"Give me a double shot of whatever that is," I tell the bartender, pointing at a bottle faced the other way.

"ID?"

"I've had a bad life. Just hand it over."

"ID?" I groan. Stupid drinking age laws.

"Give this girl whatever she wants," Damon compels the bartender. Then he turns to me as the bartender pours me a double shot. "Is this a bad idea? How's your tolerance?"

"My tolerance is way high," I say, downing my double shot. "Keep them coming. What are you doing here, Damon?"

"I'm a founder. Why wouldn't I be here?" Damon questions, leaning on the bar.

I down the next shot that the bartender sends towards me. "Just leave me alone."

"Come on. I did what I did to save my brother."

I look down before downing the shot. I definitely know what that feels like. Doing anything to save your brother. "Fine. But what about Alaric?" I turn to the bartender. "Make me a glass instead. I can't stay here another minute." Damon gives me a hurt look.

The guy pours me a glass, and I walk away. I finish my drink, and the music changes to something people can dance to. People start dancing.

"I'm out of here," I say aloud to no one in particular. I exit the Lockwood Manor, and Tyler says, "Where are you going?"

"Out of here."

"I know it is pretty lame, but I'm stuck here," he tells me.

"Yeah. It's your house. Luckily it isn't mine so I'm going to the house." I walk down the stairs.

"Come on. I'll get you a drink."

"I thought you didn't like me," I say.

"I don't." Tyler shrugs. "But since you stole my money, you can suffer."

"For the last time, Tyler, I didn't steal your money. You agreed to the bet. It was completely fair."

"You acted drunk," Tyler protested.

"And that," I say, walking up the stairs," is why I am good at hustling pool." I hand him my empty glass. "I forgot to leave this in the house."

"Stay and endure the torture of Founder events," Tyler pushes.

"Fine. If it is so damn important to you, I'll stay."

"Good." Tyler smiles. "Now how about that drink?"

"I know a guy. I could get you what you want," I tell him.

We walk inside the Lockwood Mansion, and I lead him to the bar. "Uh, Vodka for the little Lockwood over here."

"I'm not little," Tyler complains. "And I don't need Vodka."

"Yes, you do." I turn to the bartender and ask for a shot of bourbon.

"Vodka and a shot of bourbon coming up." The bartender gives them to us.

"I'm gonna go roam," Tyler says before walking away.

"Bourbon, huh?" Damon asks, coming up next to me. "That a bit strong for your age, huh?"

I down the shot of bourbon before telling Damon, "Screw you."

"You wish." He smirks.

"Whatever. Your ego will be the death of you one day. A double shot this time, please."

"I saw you talking to Tyler. Is he another make out distraction buddy?" Damon asks.

I down the double-shot. "You're a dick." I shove passed him. Before I walk away, I add, "Not that it is any of your business, but no he isn't."

I walk into a room and see Jeremy sitting on a couch. I sit next to him. "Hey."

"Hey, Adele."

"Did you ask the Sheriff?" I question.

"Yeah. She said it is still an ongoing investigation," Jeremy says, looking at his lap.

"That's a good thing right?"

"Yeah," Jeremy answers, "but I feel like I am out of the loop somewhere. Like everyone is keeping something from me. And I don't know what it is."

"Hey. You'll figure it out soon enough. One way or another. Whether in the way you like it or not. You'll find out. Nothing stays a secret forever. Trust me. I know. My brother's try to keep stuff from me all the time." I feel an ache in my heart from missing them so much. Especially Sam who is still rotting in Hell. In the Cage. With Lucifer and Michael.

"What are your brother's names?" Jeremy asks.

"Dean and Sam. They are both older than me."

"How much older?"

"Dean is 31 and Sam is 27." Was, I correct silently, feeling pain in my chest.

"Wow," Jeremy says, eyes widening in shock.

"Yeah. They are technically my half-brothers, but I don't consider them that. They are the people I am closest to in the world," I tell him as Elena comes in and sits on the couch next to us.

"Jer?" Elena questions, and he looks at her. "I heard about your conversation with Sheriff Forbes."

"No one is trying to figure out what happened to her. They all want to believe that she ODED," Jeremy tries to convince her otherwise.

"Coroner's office confirmed it. If that's what they say happened then…" Elena trails off.

"Is that what you believe?"

"What do you think happened?"

Jeremy informs her, "I think that somebody killed her and buried her body, and I don't think we should write it off just 'cause it's easy."

He's got a point. Then again. Locals don't need to know if it is supernatural related unless it comes back again.

"They're just doing what they can to move on," Elena says.

"The truth is the only thing that gonna help people to move on."

"Jer, just let it go okay? Whatever it was she's gone now," Elena says, and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. If I wasn't suspicious before, I am now.

"Whatever it was? So you don't think it was an overdose?" Jeremy interrogates.

Elena stutters, "Yes… I do."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Elena looks really uncomfortable and avoids Jeremy's eyes. Someone needs lessons on how to lie. "Why aren't you looking at me?"

"Sorry, that doesn't mean anything."

"If there was something else you'd telling me right?"

Elena hesitates, "Of course I would.

Jeremy looks at her, suspicious, and I give her a doubtful look. Elena leaves, and I leave shortly after. After a while and a little more alcohol, I hear Matt yell, "Mom!"

When I get there, Matt hits Tyler and they start to fight. Ms. Donovan gets knocked to the floor. I push them apart. "Cut it out. I don't know what stupid thing happened but don't fight. Especially not at a freaking Founder's Party that your dad runs." I look at Tyler at the last part.

Mr. Lockwood comes in and sees his son."I'll take it from here. Are you hurt? Go to clean up its okay." Tyler leaves, and I follow him.

"What happened?" I ask him.

Tyler looks down. "I made out with Matt's mom."

"What?" I sigh. "Look, I'm not going to give you a lecture. You know how stupid it was kissing your friend's mom. Just, be careful. You don't want to end up hurt or end up hurting someone. Trust me. You'll regret it."

"Speaking from experience?" Tyler scoffs.

"Yes, actually."

"I don't need this," Tyler says, walking passed me and upstairs.

"Tyler!" I exclaim, but he ignores me.

I walk back to Alaric's apartment and lay on the bed. After 20 minutes, my phone rings. I look at the caller ID. Damon. I decline the call and look up at the ceiling. I so don't need to deal with him right now. After declining a few times, Stefan calls.

"Hey, Stefan," I greet.

"Wrong Salvatore." I can practically hear Damon smirk.

"Oh, god. What do you want?" I question.

"Oh, nothing much. Just to tell you John Gilbert has a ring like Alaric's, and he also knows a lot of information. He probably knows all about you."

"Shit," I swear. "Hold up. How do you know he has a ring like Alaric's?"

"I might have killed him when he was threatening me."

"Damon!" I exclaim.

"Did you not hear me? He is a threat to me and my brother and anyone who sides with us," Damon reminds me.

"Fine. We'll deal with him, but we are NOT killing him. Okay?"

"Of course not," Damon says, with a smirk.

"Whatever. I'm going to try to get some sleep. Night."

"Night, Adele."

I hang up the phone and go to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Almost a week later, Caroline tries to convince me to go to the Miss Mystic Falls ceremony as I stand in her room, helping her with Miss Mystic Falls.

"You have to go. Everyone goes!" Caroline exclaims.

"That doesn't mean I have to," I point out.

Caroline says, "You're going there to support two of your friends. Remember?"

"Right. Why do you want this anyways? It's just a title."

"It's not _just_ a title. There's pride and honor in it," Caroline explains. "It comes from alot of work. And my Grandmother and both of my aunts won Miss Mystic Falls. My mom was the only one who didn't get the gene. I want this. I actually deserve this."

"So you want to live up to the family name or you will feel like you aren't good enough?" I question.

Caroline looks down. "I probably won't win. Elena's running, and she's everyone's first choice."

"I doubt that."

"It's true! Matt still has feelings for Elena. Bonnie chooses Elena to confide in. You hang out with her a lot, too. Stefan chose Elena." Caroline sighs.

"Hold up," I command. "I have my reasons for hanging out with Elena. And who have I been hanging out with this past week? And who am I helping with Miss Mystic Falls? You or Elena?"

"Me," Caroline says with a small smile.

"See? Not everyone chooses Elena. You can do this, Caroline."

"I can do this," Caroline repeats, sounding more confident than before. "Thanks, Adele. I needed that."

"No problem. Now, what dress are you wearing?"

"The green strapless one, obviously."

"Obviously," I repeat with a smile.

"Wait. You are coming, right?" Caroline asks, sounding worried because I still haven't answered that yet.

"Yes, Caroline," I tell her. "I'll go to the ceremony."

"Yes! Thank you!" She hugs me tight. I smile. I'm helping a friend for a ceremony that is pointless in the end, but it makes me happy to do so. Normal can feel really good.

"So, how are things between you and Matt?" I ask, curiously.

Caroline says, "Great. I mean, I know he still has feelings for Elena, but he is really great. I really like him."

"I know you do. He is a third of what you are usually talking about."

"Oh, yeah?" She questions. "And what is the other two-thirds?"

"Lately one of the thirds is Miss Mystic Falls," I answer. "The other third is whatever else you feel like talking about."

"Adele, I... I think I might be falling in love with him," she admits.

My eyes widen. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've seen the way you look at him. It isn't the first time I've seen that look."

"Where have you seen that look? Your parents? Stefan and Elena?"

"Nah, my mom died shortly after I was born, and I don't pay too much attention to Stefan and Elena's relationship. I prefer not to see their couple stares."

"Oh, right. And I know the feeling. Though, they _are_ cute together," she points out.

"Yeah, they are. My oldest brother exchange looks of love with his best friend. I totally think they should get together already, but he won't because he doesn't want to admit that he's attracted to the guy and loves him. He's totally bi, though. Just not out of the closet."

((A/N: Sorry if you don't ship Destiel. I do, and Adele does, too. Btw, if you still have doubts about Dean Winchester's sexuality, look up 'Dean is Totally Straight' and 'Proof Dean Winchester is Straight' on YouTube))

"Your brother is bi?" Caroline asks. "My dad is gay. He divorced Mom and now lives with his boyfriend, Steven."

"Aww. Sorry your parents got divorced, but I am happy to hear he accepted his sexuality," I tell her.

"Yeah. I don't see him much, though, but that's life."

"Yes. It is. My dad was gone alot when I was younger. Work."

"That sucks," Caroline says.

"Yeah, but that's life."

She grins, and we both start to laugh.

"I'm so glad we met," Caroline tells me.

"Yeah," I smile. "What would I do without my insecure, control freak, caring, awesome, loving friend that convinced me to go to a formal event to support her?"

Caroline smiles.

The next day, Jeremy is avoiding me. He's been avoiding me since the Founder's Party. I don't know what I did. I've been trying to figure it out, but I don't think I said or did anything to make him avoid me. There is a pain inside my chest when I think about it. What did I do?

After school, the Miss Mystic Falls contestants are practicing their dance, and Caroline convinced me to observe. She's very persuasive when she puts her mind to it. Mrs. Lockwood wonders why I am there, but Caroline basically says I have to be there. I sit on the table and watch. Matt had to cancel practice because he is working. Elena and Stefan are talking about God knows what. It looks coupley, and I'm not eavesdropping on that. Bonnie came back, but she isn't talking to Elena. Vampire problems and all. I don't blame her. Her grandmother died because she helped vampires. I empathize her. I've been in a situation like that.

Suddenly, I hear giggling and look over to see Stefan and Elena break positions and he dips her down before lifting her up again. Carol Lockwood scolds them before they continue practicing.

After practice, I tell Caroline, "I'm not coming to this practice tomorrow."

"I guess it was a bit boring just watching, huh?" she noticed.

'Just a little bit," I lie.

"Okay. I get it."

"Sorry, Care-bear," I apologize.

"Care-bear?" Caroline questions, amused.

"Yeah. It's a nickname."

"I know what it is," Caroline laughs. "I've just never had anyone call me that before. It reminds me of those bears in those shows and movies."

"What bears?" I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"You seriously have never heard of care-bears? How were you raised?"

"I didn't really watch tv. And when TV was on, Dean was watching porn or stuff like Dr. Sexy MD. And sometimes Back to the future, Star Wars or Lord of The Rings. He's a HUGE geek, even though he doesn't admit it."

"So no tv for you, then," Caroline sums up.

I tell her, "I enjoy watching the geeky stuff. And Dean usually watches the porn when - Sam and I are out."

"That is good."

When I get back to Ric's, I call Jeremy, whose number I got at some point or another. He doesn't pick up. I groan before pocketing my phone once again. I saw him at school so he isn't missing. Why is he ignoring me? I pull out the homework that is pointless for me to do since I know what I am going to do when I get out of school. I'm going to be a hunter. I am just here for Dean and - Sam's sake. I miss Sammy. I'm surprised I haven't tried to bring him back yet in Mystic Falls.

When night falls, I pull out some things from my collection to summon a crossroad demon. The last one told me he couldn't. Just like the time I tried to save Dean. Screw promises. He is family. I have to try at least one last time. I walk until I find a dirt crossroad and draw a devil's trap. Then I start digging before burying the little box.

"Round and round the Winchester's go." The demon laughs. Then she looks down. "A devil's trap? Really"

"I want-"

"Don't even bother. I know what you want. Precious Sammy, right?"

I grit my teeth, feeling the painful ache in my chest. "Yes."

The demon says, "Well, no can do, kiddo. I can't."

I knock her down in a swift move and have my angel blade at her throat. "Don't forget. I may be the youngest and shortest, but I'm still a Winchester."

"You wouldn't. My host is alive."

"I'm sure you have heard of all of the demon's we ganked. Try me."

"You forgot something, Winchester. Dirt moves."

I look to the side and see the devil's trap is broken. I fly backwards as the demon sees me distracted. I get up, ignoring the pain in my head and back. I run back at the demon, and she knocks me down. A fist comes at my face. The impact causes a stinging pain, but I use my legs and flip the demon over before shoving the blade at her neck again.

"Look, I literally can't, alright?" she says.

"Well, you must be one low level crossroad demon," I insult.

The demon grits its host's teeth as the blade pushes hard enogh to make her neck bleed. "He's in the Cage which is highly guarded. I couldn't get him out even if I wanted to. Which I don't. It is amusing to watch you Winchester's suffer."

I take the blade away from her neck and, without thinking, shove the blade into their heart. The demon's eyes and mouth light up before they die. I get up and brush the dirt off. "I'm sorry," I apologize to the woman I just killed. Blood drips from my nose, and I wipe it off. I cover up the devil's trap and undig the box. There is a chance I will need it again. I wipe the blood off of the angel blade and onto the woman's shirt. I start walking away before calling the police and reporting the body.

"What's your name?"

"My name? Oh, yeah. Sure. My name's- " I hang up the phone before heading to Ric's once again with a quicker pace.

When I get there, I take care of the blood on my face from the nosebleed and throw my blood-stained shirt in the wash. I covered it up on the way here. I lay down on my bed and rest.

In the morning, my head is pounding and my body aches. I pull out my duffle bag, take out Ibuprofen and throw a few into my mouth. I swallow them. Ric sees me as I exit my room.

"Ouch. What happened," he questions.

My hand reaches up to where I was punched. "Is it bad?"

"Not too bad, but you might want to cover it up to avoid questions, if you can."

I go back into my room and pull out a small thing of makeup that matches my skin tone to cover up my bruise. Then I go to the bathroom and look in the mirror. It is not _bad_. I've definitely had worse, but Ric is right. We don't need questions. I put on the makeup, and it looks like I don't have a bruise. Then I head to school.

On Saturday, I put on my dress and brush my hair before heading to the Lockwood mansion for the Miss Mystic Falls ceremony. I look around at all of the people. Caroline wasn't kidding. Everyone comes. I shouldn't be here. This crosses too far into the line of normal. More so than the Founder's day kickoff party. _Pretend you're on a case_ , my brain tells me. I take a deep breath and walk into the crowd. When I enter the Lockwood mansion, I feel an arm pull me to the side. Jeremy.

"Can we talk?" he asks.

"Uh, sure, Jeremy," I answer and follow him into an empty room.

When the door closes, he turns on me. "I know."

"Know what?" I question, even though it feels like I know the answer.

"I know about you. I know you are a hunter."

"So I hunt bears and deers and things. So what?"

"Not that kind of hunting. I know vampires and witches are real and that you used to hunt them.

"How?" I breathe out.

"I read Elena's journal," Jeremy answers. "Did you know about Vicki?"

My eyebrows furrow in confusion, "What about Vicki?"

"She was turned into a vampire and attacked me. Then one of the Salvatores killed her, and Damon compelled me to forget it."

My eyes darken. "He did what?"

He tells me, "Yeah. Elena told him, too."

"Jeremy, I promise you, I had _no_ idea about this, and I _definitely_ wouldn't be okay with you being compelled to forget. I know what it is like to have your mind messed with. I will _never_ be okay with compulsion."

"What happened that you had your mind messed with?" Jeremy questions.

"I was 13, and I was on a hunt. This guy, Andy, could control what people do just by saying a few words. It kind of seemed cool, given that he wasn't the one killing people. But then we met, well, I guess you could say his evil twin brother. He was the one killing people. He didn't even have to speak to control people. We didn't know that until later. Dean and I were the snipers so we couldn't hear him while- Sam went in close because the mind control did not work on him. He did his nonverbal mind control and made Dean and I put the guns to our heads. I would have shot myself if it wasn't for Andy. He shot and killed his twin, freeing me from the mind control. That is why I hate compulsion. It reminds me of that. Having your mind messed with isn't right," I tell him. "No matter the circumstances."

Jeremy's eyes widen as I tell the story. "We should, uh, probably go back to the ceremony."

"Yeah," I agree.

"Hold up. Adele, if you need to get any of the stuff you went through or anything you need to say to someone, I'm here. Okay?"

I smile sadly. "Thanks, Jer. I don't want you to feel the pain, though."

"Sometimes it helps to talk," Jeremy says. "You taught me that."

"Maybe I will take you up on your offer one day," I tell him. "But I am fine for now, though."

"Okay."

We rejoin the party.

"Are you going to watch the ceremony?" I ask him.

"No," he answers. "She lied to me and got him to compel me. I'm not watching."

"Suit yourself. I swore I'd support Caroline so I am going."

I walk over to the staircase. I see Damon and my face hardens. The music starts to play, and the contestants slowly come down and greet their date. I scan the escort line and don't see Stefan or Matt. I think I remember Caroline saying Matt has to work. Where is Stefan? I look around frantically and notice that Amber isn't with the contestants. Didn't Stefan have a blood problem last week? If he still has problems and is the reason Amber isn't here…

"Miss Caroline Forbes," I hear. I tune out her escort's name and watch Caroline descend the staircase.

I smile at her, and she smiles at me before taking her escort's hand. They walk out of the Lockwood mansion.

"Elena Gilbert," Carol calls out. "And her escort Stefan Salvatore."

Elena descends the staircase, and Stefan doesn't show. But Damon does. He offers Elena his arm, and she takes it. We follow them out of the Lockwood mansion and watch them dance. My eyes widen as I notice the sexual tension between Damon and Elena. I see more tension between them than Stefan and Elena. I shrug it off as me imagining things and step into the crowd. I walk around them and try to see if I can find Stefan. I can't find him. The contestants and their escorts stop dancing. I watch as they announce the winner of Miss Mystic Falls.

"The winner of Miss Mystic Falls is Caroline Forbes," Mrs. Lockwood announces.

I applause proudly with a grin on my face. Then I back off away from the crowd once more and look for Stefan. This turns out actually being a case. When I find him, Damon, Elena, and Bonnie are shortly behind. Damon pushes me back as I pull out my stake.

"I told you what would happen if anyone got hurt, Damon," I hiss.

Damon says back, "Just put it away. Look at him."

Stefan looks in horror of what had happened. The girl is on the ground, with blood on her neck. I sigh and put the stake up. I warn, "If anything else happens because of you or your brother, I won't hesitate to pull it out again."

"Fine."

He slowly approaches Stefan, and Stefan runs away at human speed. Damon calls the Sheriff who is part of the Founder's Council, and she come over to them.

"Did you see anything?" Sheriff Forbes questions.

"No," I lie easily. "We got here and we saw Amber with her neck bloody. Whatever attacked her was gone. Or it was too dark to see. I'm not too sure. Then I called Damon. It was too messy to see what exactly happened. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful with what attacked her."

"It's okay, Adele," she tells me, and I nod. She looks behind me for confirmation of what happened, and Bonnie and Elena nod, Bonnie with some reluctance. "You three should rejoin the party."

"Okay, Sheriff Forbes," I say before pushing them lightly forward. We walk towards the Lockwood Mansion.

Bonnie asks me, "How did you come up with that on spot?"

"Years of practice. My whole life. I've had to lie on spot for years. Even when I was arrested," I tell her.

"Hold up," Elena interrupts. "You were arrested."

"Don't give me that judgemental tone. Hunting isn't exactly within the law. And people don't know the truth," I explain. "Therefore my brothers and I have been accused of murder and bank robbery. Well, technically, we did lock people up in the vault, but in our defense, a shapeshifter was in the bank somewhere, and we couldn't risk anyone leaving."

"You robbed a bank?"

"Locked down," I correct. "And technically it wasn't us who started it, but we kept it locked when the guy died. Look, you can't be all judgemental when I am a hunter. It doesn't work, Elena. I do things. Things you wouldn't approve of, either of you, but it is what I have to do, so you better get over it."

I walk away from them and head back to Ric's apartment. I push on the door, but it is locked. I pull out the paperclip from my jacket pocket and pick the lock. Usually he leaves it unlocked. I enter the apartment and go to bed.

(A/N: Please comment on what you think. Your comments mean alot to me, and I would appreciate more input. Also, who do you want Adele to be with?)


	9. Chapter 9

A week later, I call Dean. It's been a month since we last talked, and I feel really bad about that.

"Ade?" Dean says, a little shocked. "It's been a while."

"Sorry, Dean. I've been busy with school and friends and stuff." Stuff being everything supernatural related since I got here. "I should have called anyways. I'm sorry, Dean."

"Hey, it is a two way street. I could have called you. I'm glad to see you are enjoying normal things."

I scoff. "Like I could enjoy school. Or social events for that matter. Did you know that this town has a month or two filled with social events? And by social events I mean masquerades, Miss Mystic Falls, a kick off party to start it, a cook-off and alot more. Oh, and most of their school dances are decades based which means a whole new outfit every single time."

"That sounds horrible," Dean comments.

"Oh, it is," I confirm. "It crosses too far into the line of normal. But what can I do about it? You threw me here."

He sighs. "Ade..."

"Whatever. I'm alright over here, all things considered. I've got a couple of friends over here that take my mind off of things."

"Good. Look, I have to get to work. I'll call you later."

"Okay," I say, and he hangs up the phone.

Then I get a text from Jeremy.

Jeremy: Can you come over?

Me: Sure. I'll be there in ten minutes.

I leave my room, and Alaric is leaving the apartment, too. "Where are you going?" I question, curiously.

"I have to check out a lead. With Damon," Ric answers.

I sigh, exasperated. "Damon? Really, Ric?"

"We might have a lead on Isobel."

"Don't die," I command.

We leave the apartment, and I head towards the Gilbert house. I get there about the time I told Jeremy that I would arrive. Jenna opens the front door.

"Hey. Adele, right?" She questions.

"Yes," I confirm. "I'm here to see Jeremy."

"Well, come on in," Jenna tells me and moves to the side to let me through. "Jeremy is upstairs in his room."

"Thanks." I smile before walking up the stairs.

I knock on Jeremy's bedroom door, and he opens it. "Hey, Adele," he greets with a grin.

"Hey. What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about you being a hunter."

"Why?" I question.

"Call it curiosity. Come on in." Jeremy moved to the side to let me in, and I enter.

"So, what do you want to know?" I ask, sitting on his bed.

Jeremy sits next to me, looking at me. "For starters, do you think there are good supernatural beings?"

"I know there are. Most of them aren't, though," I say. "I've only met a few good ones."

"Yeah? Like what? Vampires?"

"A vampire named Lenore, I told you about Andy, an angel named Cas-"

"Hold up," Jeremy interrupted. "Angels?"

"Yeah, they exist, and they ain't the fluffy good-hearted, never do anything wrong angels you see on tv. Most of them are dicks."

"I know about vampires and witches. And now angels. But what else is real?"

"Werewolves, demons, shape-shifters, changelings, evil clowns that eat people, anything you could imagine." Jeremy looks at me in complete shock. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, Big Foot and the Loch Ness monster are just hoaxes. They don't exist."

Jeremy sighs.

"I know it is alot to take in, but it's the truth, and I'm not lying to you again."

"Good. Hey, you remember Anna?"

"Yeah. Your friend who is a vampire, right?" I ask, knowing he knew because he read Elena's journal.

"Yeah, that is her." Jeremy nods. "She's still a friend of mine."

I sigh. "Jeremy... She used you and almost had you killed."

"She did that to save her mother. She would do anything for her family."

I remember everything my brother's and I have done for family. "I know the feeling. As long as that Anna chick doesn't kill anyone, she won't receive a visit from me."

"I'll tell her that," Jeremy says. "So, how good of a hunter are you?"

"My brother's and I stopped the apocalypse. Granted we also helped start it, and it came with a great cost, but..." I trail off. "We are alright, I guess."

"Wait- the apocalypse?"

"Yep. The biblical apocalypse. Revelations. Michael vs Lucifer. All of it."

"You helped stop the biblical apocalypse?" Jeremy says, shocked. "That is so hot."

I raise an eyebrow, and heat rises in his cheeks. "Anything else you want to know?"

"What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?"

"Tough question. Probably either the time we went to kill the devil with only one gun to stop him. We lost some people on that. Hellhounds are awful sons of bitches. And then the other would probably be when Dean and I walked into the Michael vs Lucifer showdown to stop it."

"How long have you been a hunter?" Jeremy asked.

"Practically since I could walk. Not hunting but learning and training. And when I was nine, I started hunting. I was basically a back up, but I helped, too."

"Who puts a nine year old in danger like that?"

"Hey, I wasn't bad! I could shoot quite well at that age and could handle myself. Anyways, a couple of months later, my brother- Sam, he, uh, he left the family and went to college after getting in a big fight with Dad," I told him, pausing before saying my taller brother's name. "We didn't see him again until two years later."

"I'm sorry," Jeremy said, looking at me.

I shrug. Yeah that was two of the worst years of my life, but it was over. Now Sam is dead and in Lucifer's Cage, and I can't bring him back. That is ten times worse. At least I knew he was safe at Stanford. I feel like I can barely breathe when I think about it.

"Have you ever thought about not being a hunter?"

"I guess," I answer, "but being a hunter is all I know, and I get to help people. Yeah, life sucks and people die, and it hurts so bad you can't breathe and wish you couldn't feel a damn thing, but it is my life."

Jeremy hugged me before I pulled back, my wall building back up. I don't open up to people. I did to Damon, but that was different circumstances, and he made for a good distraction.

"I, uh, gotta go."

"What? Why?" he asked.

"I just need to head back to Ric's house. It was nice seeing you again, Jeremy."

I open his bedroom door, and I leave his house. I take the long route to Ric's house and find myself in the woods. I stop after a few minutes of walking through it and sit down against a tree. Tears spill from my eyes, and I wipe them away. I miss Sammy! I run a hand through my hair, and I lean my head against the tree and shut my eyes.

"Well, well, well. What do I have here?" a familiar voice said.

I pull out my knife and throw it in the direction of his voice, not opening my eyes yet.

"Come on. This is a new suit."

I open my eyes and get up. "You should be glad I didn't use my angel blade, Crowley."

"You wouldn't. I still have Bobby Singer's soul," Crowley said, knowing it is true.

"I could hurt you without killing you. What do you want?"

"I heard that a week or two ago you killed one of my demons."

"One of _your_ demons?" I question, eyebrow raised. "You are a crossroads demon. They aren't _your_ demons."

"I was a crossroads demon. Now I'm the King of Hell."

"Who died and made you king?"

"Now _that_ ," Crowley says, "is a long story."

"Whatever. I don't care. What does it matter if I kill one of your low level crossroad demons? It isn't like there is a shortage of them."

"But now I have one less demon to make deals that drag people to Hell."

"And that is a problem because...?"

"Because I need as many souls in hell as I can! Do you know how much souls are worth?" Crowley questioned.

"No, and I don't particularly care either. I'm having a crappy day of reminders. Just go, and no blood, minus what little is on your suit, is shed," I tell him.

"Fine, Winchester. I'll be back," Crowley says before disappearing to wherever he goes.

I roll my eyes and walk to Ric's house.

The next day, Elena calls me.

"What?" I ask as I answer the phone. "I told you all not to come to me unless lives are at stake."

"They are. Isobel is in town," Elena told me.

"Isobel? Wait- your birth mother and Alaric's ex-wife?"

"Yep," she confirmed. "She wants to meet me."

"Don't go. It's a trap. It's gotta be."

"She is threatening the whole town," Elena told me.

I sigh. "Then you don't have a choice. Unless you want me to kick her ass."

"No. Don't. I'm meeting her at the Grill in ten minutes. It would be great if you were there. Stefan will be there, too. Damon and Alaric can't come in."

"I'll be there, Elena," I promise, grabbing a couple more weapons as I speak.

I hang up the phone and run to the Grill. I get there in a little over 5 minutes. I take a seat a couple of tables from Elena, order some food and pull out a notebook. I want to lessen the chance of recognizing that I am there for Elena. My body is somewhat tense, but my heart pounds at it's regular pace. Isobel sits next to Elena.

"Hello Elena," Isobel greets. "You look just like her, that's eerie."

Elena asks, "You've met Katherine?"

"She found me after I turned. Genetic curiosity, I suppose. She would be fascinated by you," she answers. Doppelgangers. Creepily identical.

"Is that how you can walk in the day?"

I glance over and notice her blue charmed necklace that's color looks like Stefan and Damon's rings. I continue eating my burger, listening.

"Katherine helped me obtain it."

"Who's my father?" Elena interrogates.

"Not important. He was a teenage waste of space."

"A name would be nice." I almost smirk at her reply.

"It would, wouldn't it? You ask a lot of questions."

"Why did you compel that man to kill himself?" questions the doppelganger. "Right after he told me to stop looking for you?"

Isobel answers, "Dramatic impact. I wish it would have been more effective."

"Human life means that little to you?"

"It means nothing to me," she says, making my face tighten, but I take a sip of my coke and continue eating. "It's just part of being what I am."

Elena disagrees, "No it's not. I know other vampires, that's not true."

"Your new boyfriend over there by the pool table? Stefan Salvatore. Why Stefan? Why didn't you go for Damon? Or are you enjoying them both like Katherine did?"

Elena looks shocked at the question and asks, "Why did you want to meet me? Can't be to just catch up." Finally getting to the important stuff.

"Because I'm curious about you. But the real reason is: I want what your uncle wants. Jonathan Gilbert's invention." What invention?

"How do you know my uncle?"

Isobel answers, "I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. John had a crush on me for years. He was the first one that told me about vampires."

"So what made you want to be one?" she asks, curiously.

"It's a very long list of reasons, Elena. All of which I'm sure you've thought about."

"No," the Gilbert disagrees.

"That was your first lie. It's inevitable, you're going to get old, Stefan won't. Forever doesn't last very long when you're human."

"I'm sorry but I don't have what you're looking for." She gets up but Isobel catches her arm and forces her to sit down. My whole body stiffens, ready to act if necessary.

"Sit down," Isobel orders, "and tell your boyfriend to walk away. I want the invention."

"I don't have it."

"I know that but Damon does and you're going get it for me."

"He's not going to give it to me."

"Then the blood will be on your hands." Isobel gets up and leaves. "It was nice meeting you Elena."

I throw a $10 on the table, grab the empty notebook, and walk over to Elena as soon as Isobel is gone. Elena starts crying quietly. Before I could comfort her, Bonnie walks over. She sees Stefan and walks away. I catch up to her as she exits the Grill.

"Hey, Bonnie," I greet.

"Hey. What do you want?" Bonnie questions.

"Stop being a poor friend." Bonnie stops walking and looks at me. "Look, I get it. You are pissed at Stefan because your Grams died. I get it. Been there. But that doesn't mean you should push Elena away. She could really use you at the moment. You are her best friend. Yet, you saw her crying and walked away. Elena is having a crappy day. She met her birth mother who is a real bitch. And she could really use you."

Bonnie looks down and nods. "I'll talk to her."

"Good," I say before walking back to Stefan and Elena.

"Hey," I say as I approach. "How are you holding up?" She looks better than when I last saw her. She isn't crying, but she still looks really sad.

Elena shrugs. "Not well."

"I figured." I look at her sadly. "I'll help with everything right now. Okay?"

Elena nods, and Stefan looks at me in relief, giving me a silent thank you. I smile. A few minutes later, I leave the Grill.

The next day, I help Caroline with the Miss Mystic Falls float for the Founder's Parade.

"Gone with the Wind?" I raise and eyebrow as she tells me our theme.

Caroline smiles. "I love Gone With the Wind. I channel Scarlett daily."

"I've never seen it," I admit. "Like I said, I don't get much tv."

"Then I am totally going to drag you to my house and show you the movie. And the Notebook since I'm guessing you haven't seen that either."

"Nope," I answer, popping the p. "Sounds like a plan."

"Good," Caroline says. "Now, do you know why Elena and Bonnie are on the outs?"

I nod. "Yeah. But I am pretty sure I fixed their friendship last night."

"Good. What was the problem?"

"Stefan accidentally caused something Bonnie didn't like. So she was ignoring Elena and Stefan," I explain.

"That doesn't make sense." Caroline frowns.

"I know. But that is what happened."

"Whatever," Caroline says, throwing her hands up in a 'I give up' gesture. "At least they are talking again."

"Yeah," I agree, looking around. Then I see Elena by Isobel. Oh, boy. What is going to happen. "I'll be right back." I leave the float and walk around, trying to see what is going on.

All of a sudden, a float falls down and crushes Matt's hand. I run over to them and try to lift it off of him. It raises a little, but not enough for him to get his arm out. Stefan comes over and lifts it, letting Matt get his arm out. Matt cradles his arm and protests to going to the hospital, but Caroline is adamant. He agrees to go, and Tyler gets his car. I give him advise on how to handle his broken hand/arm seeing as I've broken mine before. I suddenly feel a pull, and I am in a white, 2 story house. I slip out my angel blade and point it at my attacker.

"Where am I?" I interrogate, shoving him against the wall.

Another vampire slams me against the wall, holding my throat tightly, causing me to struggle breathing. Isobel. "Adeline Winchester. I should have know."

"You really should have," I agree.

I shove my angel blade into her chest. She groans in pain and takes it out. Then she slams it in my stomach and throws me to the floor. I choke. I pull it out, pulling my shirt up to see my wound. It missed my major organs, which is good. I look up and Isobel left the room. Jeremy is in here. He crawls over to me.

"You alright?" I ask him.

Jeremy looks at me incredulously. "You got stabbed in the stomach, and you are worried about me?"

I shrug, giving him a sheepish look. "Yeah. So, are you?"

He nods. I sigh in relief, pulling out a stitching kit from my back pocket. I take out the small bottle of alcohol and pour some on my wound. I hiss in pain, and Jeremy looks at me, worried. I pull out needle and floss and start stitching up the wound. Then I keep my hand on my angel blade, ready to protect Jeremy.

"I see you're packing. It's a good sign," I hear in the hallway 20 minutes later.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, not recognizing the voice. Jeremy whispers in my ear, "My Uncle John Gilbert." I nod, watching the two vampires standing by us, making sure we don't do anything.

"It won't be long now," Isobel tells him.

"Did you get the missing piece? Where is it?" The invention.

"I don't have it yet."

John asks, "Then, why did you call me here?"

"Because I have the next best thing." Isobel and John enter the room. I push myself up, holding the angel blade that can take the vampires' heads clean off.

"I'd sit down unless you want Jeremy to end up dead."

I stand protectively over Jeremy. "You're not going to hurt him."

"Oh, you can't take all three of us on."

"You wanna bet? Try me," I snarl, holding up my angel blade.

Jeremy pulls on my arm. "Don't. I'll be fine. Sit down. Please. You're already hurt."

"I'm fine," I lie, but sit next to him, holding my angel blade out as a guard.

"What the hell are you doing?" John questions.

"Getting what I want," Isobel answers.

"Yeah but he is my nephew and you're going let him go right this second"

"That goddy ring on your finger, comes off."

"Come on Isobel, I know you okay?" John says, and I sigh, having heard this type of conversation before. "It's me John. You can't hurt a kid."

"I'll kill him to prove you're wrong."

I tense up even more, and Jeremy wraps a hand around mine that is holding my angel blade. My grip loosens.

"Really? Are you that far gone?" John questions. "Look, I know you've changed but the old Isobel is somewhere in there isn't she? Come on let him go."

"Faites le souffrir," Isobel says in French.

My eyes widen, having studied the language. "John!" I exclaim.

It was too late to warn him. Isobel's vampire minions beat him and throw him on the floor. Isobel catch his hand and remove his ring. "Nice try. We'll see how you do without this." Isobel leaves the room.

I wait five more minutes, making sure she is gone, before pulling my gun out and quickly shooting her minions in the head. They fall to the ground. I pull out my stake and shove it in both of their hearts. Then I fall to the ground. Jeremy rushes towards me.

"I'm fine," I tell him, pushing myself up.

Jeremy raises an eyebrow. "I don't think you know what fine means."

I roll my eyes. He lifts me and his uncle John up.

"I'm fine, Jeremy," John says, standing up straight. "Just a little achy and bleeding."

John and Jeremy support me to John's car despite my protests, and John drives to the Gilbert house. Jeremy tosses a shirt at me.

"Here, so Jenna doesn't question the blood."

I nod and unbuttoned my plaid shirt, wincing as I take it off. Then I wipe most of the remaining blood off and put on Jeremy's dark shirt. We pull into the Gilbert driveway, and we get out of the car.

We enter the Gilbert's house, and Jenna notices John. "What happened?" She asks.

"He fell," I explain.

Jenna chuckles.

"Hey, Jenna," Jeremy starts, "Can Adele stay over for the night? It is getting late."

"Okay," Jenna allows.

"No. It's not neccessary. Really," I protest. "I can get home fine on my own."

Jeremy raises an eyebrow and glances down at my stomach. "I think you should stay the night. It's no trouble."

I sigh. "Fine," I give in with a small smile. "Thank you."

Jeremy tells me to follow him, and we go upstairs, him helping me a little. He brings me into his bedroom.

"You want me to sleep on your bed?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I'll sleep downstairs. It's not a problem."

"I was kidding, Jeremy." I chuckle before wincing. "You can sleep on the bed, too. It doesn't have to be weird."

Jeremy smiles. "Okay. I'll take a shower and be right out."

I nod, taking off my jacket and shoes. Then I get under his covers, wincing as I do so. I pull up my shirt and look at the stitched wound as well as all of my other scars. The wound doesn't look too bad. I've had worse. But it is pretty deep. A bruise also formed around the cut.

I push my shirt down and rest my head against the pillow, closing my eyes. Jeremy exits the bathroom, and lays down on the bed. I open my eyes and look at him. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

"No problem. Especially after what happened. I wasn't about to let you go back home alone." He turned his whole body to look at me. "How are you doing?"

"I answered this before. I'm fine, Jeremy."

"I thought you promised you wouldn't lie to me again." Jeremy frowns.

I swallow, my heartbeat moving a little faster than before.

"You act like everything's okay so no one worries about you."

"I don't really let myself cry in front of anybody," I tell him, swallowing again. "Why should I let anyone worry about me?"

"Because I care," Jeremy says, softly, looking at my eyes. "And so do other people. And we really would like to know how you are feeling."

I face his ceiling and shake my head. "I'm not the kind of person who does the chick-flick moments. It really doesn't matter, Jeremy. Not really."

"It does to me."

I squeeze my eyes shut briefly before looking at him. "I'm not okay, Jeremy. Mentally, physically, emotionally. I'm tired. I've lost so much that it hurts. But I suck it up and deal with it because it is my life. No matter how much it sucks. Because I don't want anyone to carry the weight on their shoulders, too."

"Maybe it can even the weight. Make it easier to bare."

"It's not yours to bare, Jeremy," I tell him.

"Maybe it is."

I shake my head. "End of conversation. Goodnight, Jeremy."

"Good night, Adele."

I fall asleep soon after.

((A/N: Please comment what you think of this chapter and what you want to happen later on. Comments mean alot to me))


	10. Chapter 10

When I wake up, Jeremy is close to me. His head is near mine, and he is on his side. I try to sit up and wince before laying back down.

"You okay?" Jeremy mumbles, worried, but still halfway asleep.

I smile at his concern and say, "I am fine, Jeremy."

I push myself up and get off of the bed. I get to the foot of the bed before sharp pain reaches my stomach. I catch myself at the end of the bed. Jeremy is fully awake now and stands next to me.

"I'm fine, Jeremy." He gives me a look full of doubt. "Seriously. I've had worse."

"Let me at least make sure you get home okay."

"Jeremy." I chuckle before wincing. "I am fine. Okay? Fine. I can get home myself."

"You can barely walk," Jeremy points out, looking at my hand on his bedpost. I quickly remove it. "There is no way you can make it home like this."

I sigh. "Fine. Then Jenna or John can bring me."

"What is wrong with me coming?" A flicker of hurt flies across his face.

"Nothing," I promise him. "I'm just not used to anyone besides family worry about me like that."

Jeremy's face softens. "Let me bring you home."

"Are you even allowed to drive?" I raise an eyebrow.

Jeremy shrugs. "You've broken laws before. So can I. Fine. I'll get Jenna to drive us. But I am going with you."

I sigh and nod. "Okay, Jeremy."

I let him help me down the stairs but pull away and support myself when we reach the 1st floor.

"Hey, Jenna," Jeremy says, seeing her in the living room. "Can you give Adele a ride home?"

Before Jenna can reply, John says, "I can do it. It's not a problem." He smiles at me.

"No. No. No," Jeremy says, shaking his head. "I told her Jenna and I would give her a ride."

"Jeremy, it is fine. It is only a ride home." I smile slightly at him.

"I'm still coming with you," Jeremy says, and I nod.

We get out of the house, and he supports me to the car. I feel dizzy and really hurting, like someone stabbed me, oh wait she did, but I hide it from Jeremy. I don't need him worrying even more. We get to Alaric's apartment, me leaning heavily on Jeremy.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

I nod. "Thanks, Jeremy."

I go inside Alaric's apartment and lean on the counter taking deep breaths, the blood loss taking its toll on me. I didn't really heal at all last night.

"Are you alright?" Alaric asks, worried.

I nod. "I'm fine."

Then I fall to the ground, and darkness consumes me.

((A/N: Next chapter will be out soon))


	11. Chapter 11

I blink my eyes open and see a white ceiling. I look to my side and see an IV in my arm. And a tube sending blood into my bloodstream in my other arm. I reach over to pull it out, but a hand stops me.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Alaric asks.

I sigh and lay back down on the bed. I hate hospitals. "What am I doing here?"

"You don't remember?"

"It's kind of a blur," I confess.

"You passed out. The cause of you falling was from bloodloss and internal bleeding. But the fall caused your stitches to open. You almost died, Adele. The doctors gave you blood to help but they couldn't stop the internal bleeding entirely." I close my eyes. I don't care about myself, but Dean doesn't need this. "I just called Damon. He said he will be here soon."

"His face so doesn't need to be the last face I see." I groan weakly.

"Ouch." I hear Damon say. "I thought you had a think for dark-haired, blue-eyed guys."

"Speak of the devil, and he shall apear," I mutter. "Just let me die in peace, Salvatore."

"I could. If you want. But vampire blood heals."

My eyes open. "I forgot about that."

"I could let you die, if you wish. It may be a relief from all of your past that I only know a piece of." Damon looks at me.

"Heaven sucks," I tell him. "And so does Hell. I don't feel like going to either of those again for a while."

Damon pulls the IV and the tube giving me blood out. "Move over."

I move over to the right of the hospital bed, wincing hard as I do so.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Damon smirks, sitting next to me.

I shove him weakly. "Shut up, Damon. Now heal me. Please."

Damon bites his wrist and presses it against my mouth. I hold his arm and drink his blood. It is surprisingly good. However, the blood drinking reminds me of when- Sam was addicted to demon blood. After a minute, he pulls away.

"You are healing fast."

I nod and sit up, wincing as I do so.

"Don't die in the next 24 hours," Damon says, getting off of the hospital bed and walking towards the door.

"Can't make any promises," I mutter.

He leaves the room and comes back a few minutes later. "I compelled the doctors to think that the surgery worked. You are released in an hour."

"An hour?" I complain.

"Hey, you aren't fully healed," Damon reminds me.

"I hate hospitals," I mutter.

"Deal with it. I don't want a complaining hunter around or I may kill you myself."

"Damon..." Alaric started.

"Calm down, Ric." I chuckle. "Though if he hurts anyone, he's going to have to watch his back."

Damon leaves, and Alaric follows.

Five minutes later, Jeremy rushes in, panting. "I just got word that you are in the hospital. What happened exactly?"

I answer, "I passed out."

Jeremy swears. "I knew you weren't okay. I should never have left your side."

"Jeremy, it isn't your fault. There was internal bleeding. I was dying. You being there wouldn't have changed that. Damon healed me up."

"He did?" Jeremy asks, shocked. "I thought he was a serial killer douchebag. And you are a hunter."

"He is. I don't know why he bothered to save me. But it doesn't make up for all that he has done. All the people he has killed."

"He doesn't have a thing for you, does he?" Jeremy asks.

"What?" I question incredulously. "No!" I shove Jeremy lightly. "That's ridiculous. He's totally having a thing for your older sis. So if he did it for anyone, it would be for her."

Jeremy shivers. "I'm glad she's with Stefan. Having her date that..."

I laugh, wincing slightly. "Yeah. That would be pretty bad. I wouldn't date him either."

"When do you get released?" he asks.

"45 minutes," I answer, guessing the time.

"Awesome. Then you'll make it to Founder's Day celebration." Jeremy grins.

"What is the big deal about all of this Founder's stuff anyways? I mean, I know there is the Council, but why all of the events?"

"I don't get it either. But the Gilberts are one of the founding families so I am obliged to go. And John keeps trying to make me Anti-vampire completely like him even though he knows I am friends with Anna."

"That's probably why. Hunter families are kind of strict on who they hang out with," I tell him.

"But she is good!"

"It doesn't matter, Jeremy. Some hunters..." I shiver, thinking of Gordon. "Some hunters don't care if they are good or bad. They don't even give a chance."

"I take it you know a lot of hunters," Jeremy guesses.

"Some," I answer. "Most of them are corrupted and undependable. Some though..." I trail off, thinking of Bobby, Jo, Ellen, Rufus, and Ric. "Some are really great people."

Jeremy stays with me until I am released. He walks with me to Ric's so I can take a shower. Then we walk to his house.

While we walk, Jeremy says, "So you've done illegal things. What have you done?"

I stop. "Jeremy..."

He stops and looks at me. "I'm not going to say anything. I'm just curious. I've never been friends with a hunter before."

I raise an eyebrow. "That's because you didn't know that supernatural beings existed until a few weeks ago."

Jeremy bites his lip. "More like a month or two..."

My eyes widen. "What-"

I get cut off when Caroline walks towards us quickly and hugs me. "I heard you were in the hospital. You poor thing. What happened?"

"Nothing they couldn't fix, but I am still a little sore."

"Oops," Caroline says, heat rising in her cheeks. "Sorry."

I smile. "It's okay. You're forgiven."

"I'm so glad that you are okay. I would have gone to the hospital, but you'd already been released," she explains.

"It's okay, Care-bear. It's the thought that counts."

Jeremy clears his throat, standing to the side awkwardly.

"Oh, um, I should probably get ready for the Founder's day event that begins in..." Caroline checks her phone. "An hour and a half. Crap."

"I'll help," I tell her. She nods, relieved. I turn to Jeremy.

"I'll, uh, go back to my house. See ya, Adele."

Jeremy leaves and I walk to Caroline's house l, which was only a street away. When we got there, we immediately got to work. She took a quick bath and got dressed in her dress. I style her hair and help her with other things to prepare for Founder's Day.

As we are working on the finishing touches, Caroline asks, "So...what's going on between you and Jeremy?"

"What? Nothing's up," I deny.

Caroline gives me a look. "Oh, please. I saw you two eyeing each other with that dooey-eyed stare."

"We are just friends, Caroline. That's it."

"Fine," she says, putting on lipstick, "but I don't want to be there when Elena finds out that you want to have sex with her little brother."

My face turns bright red. "I don't! Caroline..." I laugh. "Seriously. We are just friends."

Caroline scoffs before looking at me. "How do I look?"

"You look great."

"Fantastic," Caroline says, and we head to the Founder's event.

"I gotta go take pictures with Matt," Caroline tells me when we arrive. "Do you want to come?"

"Actually," I start, seeing Elena jerk her head, telling me that we need to talk, "I need to do something. I'll try to catch up before the Founders' Day Parade."

"Okay," she says, and I go to Elena. We walk away from the crowd.

"What have I missed?" I ask, worried.

" I gave the device to Isobel who gave it to John," Elena says.

"The Gilbert device?"

"Yes. The one that hurts vampires."

I say, "I am not seeing a problem here."

"Stefan and Damon!" Elena sighs exasperated. "Luckily, Bonnie de-spelled the device."

"But what if something happens and we need it? The tomb vampires are still alive. At least some of them. We don't know if they are going into hiding or plotting revenge," I hiss. "Your boyfriends can leave town for the day."

Elena raises an eyebrow. "Boyfriends? Damon isn't nor ever will be my boyfriend, and they shouldn't have to leave."

"It would be better for the town. Honestly, I like Stefan mostly, but I still think it should go off. Just keep the Salvatores away for the day."

"No, Adele. We aren't taking that risk."

"I'm a hunter, Elena. I always have been and always will be. I put humans' safety above vampires." I sigh. "So what else have I missed?"

"John Gilbert may be my biological father," Elena tells me.

My eyes widen. "Wow. Okay. From what I've heard, he's usually a dick. Sorry."

"He is."

"Ironic. A nice, selfless, caring girl's parents are a heartless vampire and a douche uncle."

Elena smiles sadly. "Yeah. I gotta go. I need to talk to Jeremy."

"Speaking of which, why the hell did you get Damon to compel him?"

"You didn't see how he was like. You weren't in town then. I really need to go. We can talk about this later." She rushes passed me and to Jeremy.

I grit my teeth. She is nice most of the time, but sometimes she can be a real judgy annoying person. I walk over to where Caroline is about to get on the float. Damon stops me.

"What?" I snap at him. "Don't you have people to compel?"

"I saved your life. You _owe_ me."

"I don't owe you anything, Damon."

"Has Elena filled you in yet?" he asks.

"Yes. And Jeremy has filled me in on you compelling him."

"I did it for Elena."

"Oh, I know. But have you ever been compelled? It sucks. Alot." I turn to walk away, but he grabs my left arm. I turn around and slap him. " _Don't_ touch me. And none of you call me unless lives are at stake or it is Stefan. I actually like him."

"I could kill you right now," he says.

I threaten, "And then I'll be a vampire and be a pain in your ass forever."

Damon groans. "Fine, then just go away."

"Gladly," I say and walk away. The parade has already started.

I make my way to the front of the crowd and watch. After the parade, I go over to Caroline. I send a quick text to Elena to let me know if anything happens.

"Hey, Adele," Caroline greets. "What did you think of your first Founder's Parade?"

"It was pretty cool," I admit. "I've never watched a parade before. Well, there was one time, but I didn't really watch it. I was busy at the time."

"Where did you see it?" Caroline asked curiously.

"New Orleans. I was eleven at the time."

"That was a while ago. It felt good, being up there as the winner of Miss Mystic Falls."

"I'm sure it did." I smile. "How is Matt?"

"Broken wrist and part of his arm, but he's got a cast on, and it is healing," says Caroline.

I nod. "I'm glad it wasn't worse. That was a lot of pressure on him."

"Yeah. Tyler was able to drive him to the hospital. Do you want to go to the Grill? I don't really want to stay here and wait for the fireworks tonight."

I nod. "Sure. Sounds fun. If Tyler's there, I'll show you how well I can kick his ass at pool."

Caroline giggles. "That will be fun to see."

We go to the Grill, and Matt and Tyler had already arrived. "Hey, Matt, Tyler," I greet as we walk over to them who are sitting at a booth.

"Hey." They smile before moving over to let us sit. Caroline sits by Matt, of course, so I sit by Tyler Lockwood. Matt wraps an arm around Caroline.

Tyler tries to do the same to me, but I push his arm away. "Keep your hands to yourself, Lockwood."

Tyler rolls his eyes but keeps his hands to himself. "So what have you both been up to?"

"Adele's got a thing for Jeremy," Caroline says simply.

"I do not!" I exclaim before turning to the two guys. "Caroline seems to have gotten the most ridiculous idea into her head that I have a thing for Elena's little brother. I don't."

"Good. Because Elena would be pissed if she knew you wanted to hook up with her brother," says Tyler.

"I don't, so it's not a problem."

"Good because Gilbert's a freak," Tyler says.

"Tyler..." Matt warns as I grit my teeth. I may not have a thing for the guy, but he is my friend.

"Question. Are relationships and hooking up all you people think about?" I question with a scoff. I get up to leave the Grill.

"Don't go," Caroline pleads.

Tyler gets up. "You don't want to leave now, do you? Look, no more relationship talk unless it is about Matt and Caroline. Deal?" He asks, offering a hand to confirm it.

I chuckle with a smile before shaking it. "Deal. Don't make me regret this, Tyler."

"I won't," Tyler says with a smirk. "Ladies first." He gestures for me to get in the booth.

"How considerate," I say, sitting down in the booth near the end of the table.

"Oh, come on," Tyler complains. "Move over."

"I think I'm cozy right here." I smirk, looking up at him.

He sighs and pushes me to the other side of the booth, and he sits next to me. Matt is chuckling and Caroline giggles. I playfully glare at the three of them.

"I'm bored," Tyler says.

"Oh!" Caroline says, her eyes lighting up. "I know what we can do! Adele and Tyler can play pool! Adele told me you have played it together before. I want to see how it happens."

"I'm getting tired of playing pool with her. We have done it multiple times already," Tyler grumbles.

"In other words, you are tired of losing to me. I get it. I am pretty great at pool. How about we do Foosball instead?" I suggest.

Tyler nods, and the four of us go over to the hidden Foosball table behind a booth.

"So, who is playing who first?" questions Matt.

"Tyler and Adele. Then we can team up," Caroline says.

I nod. "Okay, Care-bear."

"Care-bear?" Matt and Tyler ask in unison, laughing.

"It's my nickname for her."

"And she didn't know what Care-bears were until I told her," giggles Caroline.

"I still don't really get what they are," I admit, confused.

"Really gay teddy-bears that go on adventures," Tyler answers.

"I'm pretty sure a guy and a girl Care-bear got together," Caroline points out.

"Then bisexual bears! I don't care. All I know is it is a stupid cartoon kids watch."

"Not all kids," I say, having never heard of them before.

"Apparently," chuckles Matt.

Tyler and I get on oposite sides of Foosball table and start playing. I lost but only because I was distracted. Tyler starts laughing.

"Shut up, Tyler," Caroline says.

"So who is on whose team?" Matt asks.

"Couples?"

"Couples?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I mean Matt and me obviously. And you and Tyler can team up."

Tyler and I exchange looks. "No way," We say I'm unison.

"Oh, come on," Matt complains. "We should just have fun. And that means you two need to get along."

Tyler and I look at each other for a minute. Then I sigh. "Fine."

I go over to Tyler's side, and Caroline and Matt get on mine. We play for five to ten minutes before Tyler and I win.

"Good job. Team work," Tyler says, holding his hand up for a high five. I look at it warily. "Oh, come on. We just won a game. High-five."

I giggle. "Okay." I high-five him.

"You good?" Matt asks us, and we nod.

"We are good."

"Good." Caroline smiles.

Mayor Lockwood walks over to us. _Great,_ I internally groan. What does he plan to say to kill the good mood now?

"What are you doing here? I told you to go home," he says to Tyler.

"I decided not to. I'm spending time with my friends."

"If I tell you to do something, you do it!"

I would've jumped back at the sound if I wasn't raised like I was. He grabs Tyler's arm.

"Let go of me!" Tyler exclaims.

"Mayor, is everything okay?" Caroline asks.

The Mayor looks at us. "Please, Tyler. I need you to go home, now. Take your friends with you."

"Why? What's going on?" I question, worried. My phone dings. I pull it out and see a missed message.

Elena: Tomb vampires attacking Founder's at fireworks.

I swear quietly.

"I can't explain. All of you need to get home, now. Please," Mayor Lockwood asks.

"Yeah, okay," Tyler says.

"Actually, uh, I gotta go. Deal with some stuff. I'm not going home."

"You should. It is safer there," says Mr Lockwood.

"Safer from what?" I ask, eyebrow raised.

The Mayor gives Tyler his car's keys. "Here, take my car, it's out back. Caroline, Matt, Adele, go with him."

"Like I said, I have something I have to go do."

"Come on, Ade," Tyler said, and I freeze. Every memory of my brothers calling me Ade consumed me all at once. The most crushing part was Sam.

"What did you just call me?"

"Ade? Sorry, it is a nickname. I won't call you that anymore. I'm sorry," Tyler apologized. "Let me give you a ride home."

I sigh, looking at my phone before nodding. "Okay."

I send a quick text to Elena.

Me: Heading home. Got a ride I couldn't really refuse. Sorry. Make sure the founding families don't die. Including you and the Salvatores.

Elena: K

We go to Mayor Lockwood's car and get in. Tyler and Matt sit in the front, and Caroline and I sit in the back seat. Tyler starts to drive but then asks, "What is that noise?"

"What noise?" I ask, worried for his sanity.

He lets go of the steering wheel and clutches his head in pain. Matt tries to take control. I unbuckle and try to help, but the car flips over a couple of times. I hit my head and everything goes dark.


	12. Chapter 12

Light beams on my face as I wake up. Paramedics. I rub my eyes and get up. Tyler is on the ground, and Caroline is standing by Matt. The Paramedics were helping Tyler. I walk over to Caroline and Matt.

"Hey, are you okay?" Matt questions Caroline.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

"No, they need to check you out."

"No, I'm fine, I'm fine. They're helping Tyler."

I watched as the Paramedics examined Tyler. I think I see a flash a amber - gold before his eyes go back to normal. The pera medic jumps back, shocked. Matt went over there to see what is happening. Then Caroline collapsed, and I catch her before she hits the ground.

"Caroline!" I exclaim.

Matt and the paramedics rush over to her. My phone rings. I watch as they take care of Caroline and get her on a stretcher.

"Elena?" I ask, fear in my voice as I look at an unconscious Caroline.

"A tomb vampire got in the house and almost killed John! And Jeremy took some pills and had Anna's blood in his system. And I don't know what to do!" Elena said, in almost a sobbing voice.

"Oh, my God." Matt looks at me worried from by the ambulance. I put my phone down and went over to him. "John was almost killed and Jeremy almost ODed. What do I do?" I looked helplessly at Caroline.

"Go to Jeremy. I'll be with Caroline," he said.

"But...I can't just leave her!"

"Meet me at the hospital. Now go!" Matt said, and I run to the Gilbert house. The bleeding on my cuts had stopped. I was mostly fine. I was stopped by a cop and so was Stefan who arrives as soon as I do.

"Let them in," Elena says to the cop.

We pass and go upstairs.

"Are you okay?" Elena asks, looking at my cuts.

"Yeah. The bleeding stopped. Tyler crashed the car. Caroline's being brought to the hospital. I came here, but I'm heading to the hospital after this," I sigh.

We reach Jeremy's room, and I rush over to him. Stefan gets to him first and looks at him.

"He's okay," Stefan says, getting off the bed.

"You mean I'm not a vampire," Jeremy says. "Dammit."

"Jeremy, why would you say that?" I ask softly.

A few minutes later, Stefan and Elena go downstairs and talk. I hug Jeremy.

"What were you thinking?" I ask, softly, trying to mask the pain. Before this town, I could.

"Didn't you hear?" Jeremy asks. "Anna's dead."

I hug him again. "I'm sorry. But don't do that again. Please. Not just for me, but your sister. I know you are mad at her, but you and Jenna are all she has left. And I know what it is like to lose a sibling. It is the worst feeling you could possibly imagine. Please, Jeremy. Don't do anything like that again."

Jeremy sighs and nods.

"Did you love her?" I ask softly, wondering if that was why.

Jeremy shakes his head. "No. She was a good friend. And I am just tired of pain. I'm tired of losing people."

I bury my face in his neck and lead it on his shoulder. "Me too, Jeremy. Me too."

Jeremy squeezes his eyes shut. "I'm sorry. I know you've lost more. Especially being a hunter, but I am new to this life. I just..."

"I know, Jeremy. Losing people never gets easier. The only thing that changes is how you handle it."

Jeremy kissed the top of my head. "Thank you for coming to Mystic Falls."

"Thank Alaric and my brother Dean," I give a small weak smile, still lost in memories. I pull myself together and sit back up. "I wouldn't be here without them."

Elena came upstairs. "Jeremy, Stefan is going to stay here and watch over you."

"I don't need a babysitter," Jeremy snapped.

"You shouldn't," she said cooly. "But apparently you do." The doppelganger turned to me. "We are going to see Caroline."

I follow her down the stairs and out of the house. We go to the hospital, and Caroline is in surgery. I bite my lip worriedly and stare at the emergency room in fear. I go to the vending machine to get a water, but really, it was an excuse to get away from people. I don't need to break down in front of them but will break down if I lose someone else.

I look to my left and see Tyler in a dark small hallway, leaning against the wall. I walk over to him. "Hey. What happened?"

Tyler composed himself except his face faltered. "It's my dad. He's dead."

I wrap my arms around him. "I'm sorry."

Tyler pulls himself away after a moment. "I'm fine. Really."

"No you aren't. I've got to go check on Caroline. Do you want to walk with me? Or stay here?"

Tyler takes a heavy breath. "I will walk with you." We start to walk. "I'm sorry about the crash. I don't really know what happened. It's a little fuzzy."

"It's not your fault," I promise him. "It's hard to try to explain what happened. I don't even understand. But it was not your fault. I promise you that."

Tyler looks at me and nods. "Okay. I still feel like crap about it, especially since Caroline isn't recovering."

We reach Elena, Damon, and Bonnie, and Tyler glances at them before looking at me. "I'll see you later then, Adele."

"I could just slip her a little blood. She would be healed up in no time. No one would even notice," said Damon to Elena.

"No way-"

Bonnie interrupted Elena. "Do it. It's Caroline."

"If I do this, you and me call it a truce," he tells Bonnie.

"No. But you'll do it anyways. For Adele."

I frown in confusion. Why would he do anything for me? Damon glances back at me and sighs. Bonnie walks away with a small smirk. I stand by Damon and Elena.

"Hey, I know this is a bad time, but we should talk about what happened last night." Damon said quietly to Elena.

"Yeah, one of the tomb vampires got in and almost killed John."

"What? After I left?"

I walk away from their drama and walk over to Matt and Tyler, who were sitting on hospital chairs, waiting.

"Hey," I greet as I approach.

Matt gets up and hugs me. "Thanks for coming here even though what happened with Jeremy."

"It's Caroline," I say softly. "I had to come here."

"I know," Matt pulls away. "I'm just so worried. They say she isn't getting better. And what if she doesn't?"

"She will, Matt," I reassure.

I go back to the Gilbert house and go upstairs. Jeremy is on the bed with headphones on.

"Hey," I greet, walking in to the room I have been in three times.

Jeremy takes off his head phones and puts them next to him. "Hey, Adele. How is Caroline?"

"She's not looking so great, but she will be fine." I sat on the end of his bed on his royal blue sheets. "How about you?"

Jeremy shrugs, getting off of his bed and walking over to his desk.

"What are you doing?"

He takes his sketchbook off of his desk and hands it to me. I flip through it and see many drawings of vampires and other supernatural creatures.

"It's a lot to take in at once," he said, looking down at his desk. "And losing people I care about doesn't help."

"I know." I close his sketchbook and say, "Your drawings are amazing."

"Thanks," Jeremy mutters, taking the sketchbook and putting it inside the top drawer of his desk.

"Don't close me out."

"Why not? You do it to me," Jeremy says, sitting down on his chair.

"Yeah but..." I sigh. "That was before. And I want you to-"

I stop as I hear a loud banging and crashing noise from below.

"Stay here," I instruct before running out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Damon and Elena just walk in. I look at the scene in confusion as the furniture is knocked around and Stefan looks shocked.

"What happened?" Elena and I ask in unison.

"Katherine happened," Damon said, annoyed.

I frown. "Katherine is in Mystic Falls? Why? Doesn't have better places to be?"

"You'd think," Damon says. "That is the million dollar question." He looked at Stefan. "Did she say what she wanted?"

"No," Stefan answered.

"Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance," Damon stated.

"She said she fooled one of us, at least. What does that mean?"

"She pretended to be Elena too when I showed up earlier tonight."

"I'm gonna go fill Jeremy in," I say before going upstairs. I didn't want to hear whatever drama was going to rise. After filling Jeremy in, I go back downstairs.

"I wouldn't do that," Elena says.

"You wouldn't do what?" I ask, walking in.

"Damon kissed Katherine, thinking she was me," Elena says softly.

My eyes widen. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I know he loves you."

Damon gapes at me.

Elena looks away from me and Damon. "We don't have time for this guys."

"Later," Stefan says to his brother who nods and smirks.

"John must know something," I said. "There has to be a reason why Katherine tried to kill him."

"She's Katherine. She loves to play games and you're fooling yourself if you think you're going to find out what she's been up to before she wants you to know."

"Usually. Not if you're a Winchester. I've done alot in my time. It sucks, but maybe I can use my experience againstb her."

"Adele is right. John could know something through Isobel. Elena's mother was in touch with Katherine so maybe we can go to the hospital and get him to talk."

"I've got a better idea," said the older Salvatore brother.

"What's that?" Elena looks at him.

"I'm just gonna ignore the bitch."

"Is that smart?" Elena and I ask.

"If Katherine thinks she's been ignored it will lure her out, she'll make a move."

Stefan asks, "Yeah? And then what?"

"Stake her, rip her head off, something poetic." Damon smirks. "We'll see."

"Poetic would be ripping her heart out like she metaphorically did to you 145 years ago. It's up to you, though. There is also the fact that she is older and wiser then you. I may not know much about Katherine whatsoever, but I know enemies. If Katherine is as smart as you say, she will have a back up plan. Which means we have go think bigger than that."

"Okay, you do that, Miss big bad huntress." Damon walks out of the house.

I ask Elena, "Can I crash here? I'll sleep on the couch."

Elena nods. "Of course you can."

I smile. "Thanks."

I go upstairs and shower before looking in the mirror. My scratches from the accident were visible but not bad. They were just grazed with the glass of the broken window. It just reminded me of my past car crashes. Especially the one where Dean would've died. A tear ran down my cheek at the memory. I wipe it off and change clothes to what Elena offers me. Then I sleep on the beige couch in the living room.

When I wake up the next morning, I take a run to the hospital. Luckily visiting hours start. I hate hospitals, but I will go in one willingly for family. And Caroline is family. I reach Caroline's hospital room and enter.

"Hey, Adele!" Caroline greets, pushing herself into more of a sitting position.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

"I'm great. A little sore, but the doctor's say I'm healing very well. They said it was a miracle." Caroline beams at me.

I smile back at her. "I'm glad you are okay."

"Yeah. What about you? You look hurt."

"It is just a few scratches. It's nothing serious. I was so worried that you weren't going to make it. I am glad to see you sitting up and talking like normal." I smile at her, relieved. "Has anyone stopped by?"

"Matt and Bonnie. And according to Matt, Damon stopped by late last night."

I nod. "Do you know when you will be released? Because I'm sure the hospital food is killing you."

"It's disgusting," Caroline confirms. "They say in two days. Unfortunately that is after the carnival. They want to keep me to make sure that I am healing as well as I look like I'm healing," Caroline explains, rolling her eyes. "Can you make sure the carnival looks great? Elena does not know the meaning of fashionable."

"And what makes you think I do?" I question, raising my eyebrow.

"Because I taught you everything you need to know. And if you have any questions, you know where I am. It's not like I am going anywhere."

"Unfortunately. I need a carnival buddy. Granted, you would've taken Matt, and I would still be alone." I frown.

"Go with Bonnie."

"Bonnie and I aren't exactly BFFs," I say.

Caroline looks at me. "All the more reason. It gets you better acquainted. Or you could go with Jeremy."

I scoff. "I'm so not having this conversation again."

"Why not? You would be great together and would so have the night of your lives."

"His friend just died. I can't, Caroline," I sigh.

"Oh," Caroline says softly.

"Yeah," I say, feeling bad for Jeremy. "It doesn't matter anyways."

"Maybe it will be a good distraction for you both," says Caroline.

I shook my head. "No Caroline."

"Why not?"

After leaving the hospital, I go to the Lockwood Mansion for Mayor Lockwood's funeral-ish event. When I get there, I give Mrs. Lockwood my condolences and start walking around the mansion. Elena comes over to me but after a quick glance over, I realize she is Katherine.

"Hey," I greet with a false smile.

"Hey, Adele," she greets. "How are you"

"Alright. All things considered. I wish I could have brought something for the Lockwoods. Maybe something my mom taught me. But it felt cliche."

"It would be, but I am sure they would appreciate it. Especially since it's from the heart. I'm sure that would be a great dish."

"Yeah. Do you want to walk with me?"

"I'd love to, but I'm looking for Stefan. I guess I can wait a minute," Katherine said after looking around.

"Fantastic." We enter an empty room, and I close the doors. I pull her arm and shove her against the wall, pulling her arm a bit to hard and breaking it. "What are you doing here, Katherine?"

"How long did you know?" She was curious.

"I wasn't certain until I brought up my mother. Elena would know that I never knew my mother. She was just a nameless face. I was raised by my Dad." I glare at her. "See, I've got no family recipes. The only thing I know how to cook is pie."

"Well, aren't you a smart one. I didn't care much about you when entering this town but apparently I should have. Any secrets I should know about?"

"None I am going to tell you, bitch," I snarl.

She attacks me at vampire speed, and suddenly I am on the floor with an arm behind my back. She squeezes it, and I feel the bone cracking. "Don't forget, I am older than you, and that means stronger."

"Katherine," says a voice from behind me. Stefan.

Katherine gets off of me. I sit up and cradle my arm with a glare on my face. Katherine left with Stefan, and I got up. I slip off my jacket and wrap something around my arm to help prevent movement where the bone is broken. Then I put my jacket back on and rejoin the funeral get together, whatever it is called. I find Jeremy and Tyler sitting in a room. I sit in an armchair.

"My dad was a dick," Tyler says as I walk in. "Look what I found in his desk." He pulls out a flask.

Jeremy grins. "Oh, come on."

"What's he going to do? He's dead."

Tyler takes a swig of the flask. I hold my hand out, and he places it in my left hand. I take a swig and offer it to Jeremy. Jeremy takes it. He is about to down it, but an adult came in.

"Uncle Mason," Tyler said after Mason takes it from Jeremy.

Mason drains the flask into his mouth and passes it back to Tyler. "Who are you?"

"Adele," I answer.

"Don't you both have somewhere else to be?" Mason looks at Jeremy and me.

"Uh, yeah. Sure," Jeremy gets up.

"I'd rather stay here if you don't mind. I'm sorry for your loss. He was your... brother, right?"

"Yes he was," Mason replies.

"I know what it's like. I'm sorry."

"I need to talk to my nephew. Mind giving us a minute?"

I look at Tyler and nod. "Okay."

Jeremy and I left the room. He looks at me for a moment and walks away. I give a heavy sigh and go outside onto the porch. Standing there looking out at the yard is Damon. I walk over to him and look at the yard as well.

"Thank you," I say softly. Damon turns and looks at me. I turn my head and look at his bright blue eyes. "For saving Caroline."

"Don't mention it," he says, looking back at the yard.

I do the same. "I have to. You didn't need to save Caroline. It didn't benefit you in any way. And you definitely didn't need to offer it. I won't bring this up again if you tell me not to, but... you aren't as bad as I thought, Damon. Thank you for saving my friend."

Damon hides a smile, but I saw it threaten to appear on his face. "Don't you have some other creatures to fight?"

I shrug. "I would if I could, but I promised my brother. And while I screwed that up already, I'm not going to search for creatures causing trouble. It seems we've got enough of that in this town already." I look at him, squinting as the sun behind him hits my face. "Don't worry. I'll tear Katherine apart if I get the chance."

I wince as my cracked arm hits the porch fence.

"What happened?" Damon asks, concerned.

"Katherine," I say.

"Ah," he says. "She was trying to show you how quick she could kill you, right?"

"I guess."

Damon says, "Come on. Elena and Stefan are by the lake. Katherine stabbed him.

"Ouch," I remark. "Poor guy. Now if it happened to you... I wouldn't have as much empathy. If at all."

"Shut up, human."

I scoff. "Your insults are incredibly boring. You need to Google some if you can't come up with good ones on your own."

"Is that what you do? Is that why all of yours are amateur insults?"

We approach the lake.

"Ouch," I say, glaring at him as he grins and walks forward.

We reach the doppelganger and her boyfriend who sit on the bench. Elena tends to Stefan's wound.

"Ooo. Cover up, Fabio. Crazy ex on the loose," Damon says, and Stefan lowers his shirt. He looks at Elena. "You better watch out. It looks like Katherine is trying to steal your guy."

I frown. Is that why she is here? Thay doesnt seem like the reason. Maybe it is her fake excuse.

Stefan disagrees, "That's not what's happening."

"Isn't it? I mean it's only fair since I went after your girl."

I snicker. "That was a douche thing to do since it's your brother's girl you went after."

Damon shrugs.

Elena says, "I'm gonna go check on Jenna and Jeremy. Let me know when you guys are done."

"Let me know how Jeremy is. He isn't talking to me." I look at her.

Elena nods and leaves.

Damon asks, "So what's it gonna be huh? Fight to the death?" He gets into a boxing pose and pretends to punch with his fists as Stefan snorts. "Go ahead, make your threats, stake your claim."

Stefan says, "I'm not gonna fight you."

I look at him in shock.

Damon asks, "Why?! I'd fight me."

"Katherine is gonna try to play us against each other, you do know that right?

I nod. "That seems like part of her plan. There's more to it, but she won't be stopped if you both are fighting, and she knows it."

Damon sighs. "Brother, don't you worry, our bond is unbreakable."

Stefan says, "We need to stay united against her. So yes, as much as I would like to kill you, I'm not gonna fight you."

"I kissed Elena."

"Technically you didn't," I remind him. "And are you trying to pick a fight?"

Stefan nods. "Because you feel something for her, because you actually care. And I'm not gonna let Katherine come in here and destroy that part of you that is finally, after all of this time, willing to feel something. She will try to break you, she will try to break us and how we respond to that will define us. It's our choice. So no, I'm not gonna fight you." Stefan gets up and walks away.

"I'm gonna head back to Ric's. Have fun trying to pick fights." I walk away from the older Salvatore brother. When I get to Ric's, I call Dean.

"Hey, Dean," I greet softly.

"Hey, Ade. How are you doing?"

"Alright. I mean, I was in a car accident, but you don't need to worry. I only got a few scratches. Granted, they will probably scar, but hey we've had worse," I tell Dean.

He asks worried, "What happened?"

"There was something in the road. The driver swerved. It's okay. How are Lisa and Ben?"

"Alright. Ben's grades are slipping are little, but hell, I dropped out. I'm no rolemodel."

I let out a small laugh. "Very true. My grades are just fine. Except in math, but who needs to know the equations they teach in math anyways? No one uses them except engineers and math teachers."

"Exactly," Dean says. "I'm glad you are holding it together."

"Me too, Dean. Me too."


	13. Chapter 13

When I heard what happened, I was pissed off, and my hunter personality wanted to kill him.

I take a shower and look at Caroline's plans for the carnival. I sigh. This is going to be a lot of work. What does half of this even mean? I was raised a hunter not a party planner. Soon, I give up and Google it. Google is a precious thing. Finally, I am at the school and start setting up the carnival with the help of a few people.

As I found Bonnie and Elena, who were helping with the carnival, they were talking about our newest problem.

"Katherine looked just like you, it was freakish." Bonnie was saying.

She is my ancestor. Hey, I moved the student booth into the cafeteria," Elena said

"Good," I said as I arrived. "It would fit in better there."

"Hey, Adele," they greeted in unison.

"Hey," I told Bonnie.

I still wasn't really talking to Elena. I still couldn't believe she told Damon to compel Jeremy. Rage flooded through me at the reminder. Just keep it cool for the carnival. For Caroline.

"Your vampire ancestor and she didn't just resemble you like a family member would," Bonnie told her. "She was you."

I work on my layout and notes for carnival that Caroline helped set up the outline for.

"I don't know, I can't explain it. It's creepy, that's all I got," Elena sighed.

"How do you know she's not still out there pretending to be you?"

"I don't but I could sit here and be tortured by the not-knowing or I could get these prizes to the ring toss."

"That sounds like an excellent idea. I'm outta here and going to figure out some more stuff for the carnival. Caroline will kill me if it's not perfect," I joke before walking away, glad to be away from the cause of my rage.

Jeremy hadn't texted me since yesterday. I'm not being clingy to my friend. I'm just stating a fact. Part of me was worried something happened, knowing how dangerous this town was. But Elena would have mentioned it even in the two seconds of seeing her. After all, Jeremy was her brother.

Some students from school helped me set up the carnival. After a few hours, the carnival started. I checked to make sure Caroline would approve. I smiled in success and walked down the row of carnival booths. Suddenly, I hear the voices of Damon and Elena.

"Come on, Elena!" Damon complained.

"No!" Elena lowered her voice. "I don't want you here. Not after you killed Jeremy."

I gasped and took a step back. "No..."

Damon and Elena finally seemed to notice I was there, but I did not care. I took off through the carnival, hoping to find the younger Gilbert sibling somewhere around here. I had to find him. I pulled out my phone and called him, but Jeremy Gilbert did not answer the phone. Panic swelled up in my chest, and I could barely breathe. He had to be here somewhere. I couldn't lose someone else. I wouldn't know what to do. I continued to search frantically for him.

Suddenly, I bumped into someone. Jeremy Gilbert. Happiness flooded through me. "Oh, thank god," I hugged him close, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Weird hello, but okay," Jeremy laughed softly but sounded concerned. He pulled away after a moment and looked at me with a smile.

"I haven't heard from you all day. Then I overheard Elena saying Damon killed you. And you wouldn't answer your phone. I thought..." I trailed off and looked into his brown eyes.

I felt emmence relief when knowing he was alive. The happiness was almost equal to when I found out Dean was alive. I didn't realize how much I cared about this guy.

"I'm alright, Adele. I'm alive. You don't need to worry about me." Jeremy took my hand and squeezed it gently.

"I will always worry about you, Jeremy. Especially because you've met me." I looked at him.

Jeremy lifted my hand up as well as his, and I saw a ring that looked remarkably similar to Alaric's ring.

"Is that...?"

Jeremy nodded. "A ring like Alaric Saltzman's. It was my Uncle John's, but he gave it to me."

I smiled. "So you are protected from most of my enemies as long as you wear the ring. But if you don't..."

"I will."

"I was so scared I was going to lose you, Jeremy. I don't think I would have been able to stay in Mystic Falls if that were the case," I said, looking at him.

"Yes you would have," Jeremy corrected. "You are strong enough to."

"Perhaps. Thank you, Jeremy."

"For what?"

"Convincing me not to give up and being someone I can talk to."

"Of course," Jeremy places his free hand on my cheek, causing me to stiffen before relaxing at his touch. "If you ever need anything, call me."

"I thought that was my line," I laughed quietly.

Jeremy looked hesitant about something, but then he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I continued to kiss him passionately, pulling him closer. Then he pulled away, and he looked into my eyes. My heart rate had sped up when our lips had collided. I honestly wasn't sure what to do, but I cared about him alot.

He kissed me again passionately and wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me closer. I felt relaxed in his arms as I kissed him. Then memories of what happens when a Winchester gets close to someone started cycling in my brain. My eyes widened, and I pulled away nervously.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy questioned.

"Nothing, I... I have to go." I took off running away from him and the carnival. I ran to a secluded spot and leaned on the wall, closing my eyes. Why was I such an idiot? To think I could have a shred of normalcy. If he stays with me, he will get killed.

Then I realized something. Damon thought it was okay to kill Jeremy. I'm going to show him how wrong he is. Screwing with someone a Winchester cares about? Bad move. He had to pay. I reached into the back of my shirt and felt the stake next to my gun.

"Good," I muttered quietly. I pulled out my gun and checked my bullets before concealing it again.

I walked back towards the carnival, flooding with rage. How dare he? I was going to kill him. I was going to kill Damon Salvatore. I was going to shove the stake in his chest and end him. And it would feel really good. I searched the carnival, feeling like I was on a mission. On a hunt. Which I was.

Suddenly, I saw something that made me freeze. First, I saw Damon and was ready to kill him, but then I saw the body behind him. That's not what made me freeze. I've seen enough bodies to last a lifetime. But next to the body... was Caroline with blood all over her mouth. No... Oh, god no...

Suddenly I felt like the absolute worst friend in the world. I felt as though I failed at my job to protect her. How could I let this happen? I was supposed to save people. Not... not fail them when they need me the most.

"Adele?" Caroline questioned, her voice cracking slightly at the sight of my frozen in shock and guilt form.

Stefan walked with Caroline over to the bathroom to wash up. I sighed. She probably thought I hated her because of what she was. I ran a hand through my hair and turn back to Damon. My face hardened at the sight of him. Suddenly, Bonnie set him on fire magically.

On impulse, I rush over to Bonnie and shake her to stop. Even though it would have been a painful death for him. Damon looked at me in shock as the fire goes out. I glare at him and walk away, wondering and thinking.

Damon followed me. "Why didn't you let her kill me?"

I spun around to face him. "I don't know. I should have. Especially after you killed Jeremy. Maybe... Maybe it's because I want to kill you myself."

Damon swallowed, knowing I could. "Are you?"

To answer his question, I pulled out my stake and shoved it... in his stomach. I sighed.

"You can't kill me, can you?"

I pulled out the stake. "I WILL kill you if you kill Caroline or Jeremy. I will. Mark my words, Salvatore." I walked away to find Caroline.

I found her.

"Adele? Do you hate me?" Caroline said in a quiet voice.

I sighed, my features softening. "I could never hate you, Caroline. I was startled. Shocked. But you are family. Because family doesn't end in blood. I just wish you came to me for help."

"I didn't know you knew," Caroline said.

"I've known since I was a baby." I walked over to her. I hugged her close. "Anything I can do to help, tell me." I pulled away and looked at her.

Caroline gave me a smile. "Thank you."

"Of course," I smiled at her. "Want me to tell you something to get your mind off of it?"

"Ooo. What is it?"

"Jeremy kissed me," I told her.

Caroline squealed in delight. "Awww. And? How did you react?"

"I kissed him back. But then I freaked out and fled."

Caroline frowned at that. "Don't you like him like that?"

"Yes, and that scares me."

"It shouldn't. You deserve to be happy," Caroline said

"So I should probably go talk to him, right?" I look at her.

"Yes! Absolutely. Like right now. Go find him and talk to him."

I smiled. "Alright."

"Great. I'm going to head home," Caroline said.

"Okay. Be careful." I told her.

She nodded. "I will."

Caroline left, and I went to Jeremy's house. I knocked on the door and waited anxiously. Jeremy opened the door and looked shocked with a small smile. "Adele. Hey"

"I wanted to apologize for fleeing. Everyone my family and I care about ends up dead. I was scared that would happen to you."

"And now?"

"After some talk with Caroline, I decided to give this a chance. Give us a chance." I looked at him.

"Good," Jeremy said and kissed me again.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning, I woke up on the couch of the Gilbert house. I had stayed there after my make-out session with Jeremy Gilbert. I still couldn't believe I was letting myself be in a relationship. Especially considering what happens when a Winchester loves someone. And if it comes to it, I will let him go. But I didn't want to.

Jeremy came downstairs as I got off of the couch. "Morning" He smiled and kissed me.

I pressed my lips to his passionately, pulling him close to me. My worries began to fade, and I continued to kiss him.

Behind Jeremy, Jenna cleared her throat, causing us to pull away from each other. My cheeks reddend. Jeremy rolled his eyes but with a smile.

"Good morning" Jenna greeted cheerfully. "I'm glad to see you both are happy and together."

I was happy. And it felt strange. After all that had happened. Of course I still missed my brothers dearly. I always would. But happiness swirled inside me. I slid my hand into Jeremy's.

"Yeah, We are" Jeremy held my hand.

"Are you hungry, Adele? We can make pancakes"

"Actually, I was thinking we could get breakfast at the Grill" Jeremy looked at me.

"That sounds great" I smiled.

"Well, I don't know if you are going with Ric and Elena, But they are leaving in about an hour and a half." Jenna said.

I nodded. "Thanks."

Jenna smiled, and Jeremy and I left the house, walking to the Grill. They walked inside the Grill and took a seat at a table.

"Hey, Adele" Tyler walked over to us. He smiled at me. He glanced at Jeremy. "Gilbert."

"I didn't know you got up this early on a weekend. Thought you slept all day and partied all night" Jeremy said.

"Jeremy" I warned.

Jeremy sighed. He looked down at the menu.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later" Tyler said awkwardly and went over to the pool table.

I looked at him with a frown before taking Jeremy's hand. "Sorry. Just didn't want a fight to start."

Jeremy smiled and held my hand. "It's alright. Sometimes I just don't think when I'm around him. We had the same girlfriend before she died."

"Vicki" I nodded with a frown. "Yeah. I've never had a boyfriend before now. Didn't have the time or affection"

"Well, then I feel honored" Jeremy smiled at me.

I skimmed the menu, having not eaten breakfast here before.

"You ready?" Jeremy asked, and I nodded. He flagged over Matt who had an early shift today.

"Hey, Jeremy, Adele. What can I get you?" Matt asked.

"Hey" I smiled. "Two pancakes, a side of bacon, and orange juice."

"Just a pancake and sausage and some water." Jeremy said.

"Coming right up" Matt said, writing it down and walking away.

"Thank you" Jeremy said.

"For what?" I looked at him.

"For giving us a chance"

I smiled at him. "Just keep that ring on. Okay? I don't want to be the reason you end up dropping dead."

"I will." Jeremy slipped his fingers into mine and held my hand. "And you be careful when doing your job."

I sighed but nodded. "I will."

"Are you going with Alaric and Elena to Duke University?"

"With Damon? No. It would probably help, but I told Ric to take pictures if it seemed important. I'm going to go be there for Caroline. She's going through a rough time right now." I looked at him.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Jeremy asked. "I mean, she's craving human blood"

"I know," I frowned. "But she's family. I have to be there for her."

"I understand" Jeremy let out a sigh.

Matt came with our orders, and we ate. I enjoyed eating breakfast with Jeremy and talking to him. The bacon was delicious, And I cleaned my plate before starting to pay for the meal.

"No no no. It's on me" Jeremy said.

"Seriously, Jer. It's fine." I pulled out the money and paid for it.

Matt smiled at us.

"What?" Jeremy questioned.

"I'm glad you two got together"

I smiled at him, And he walked away. "I should get going" I stood up, And headed towards the exit.

Jeremy rushed to follow me. "I could walk you there."

I nodded, and we walked. My hand gradually slid into his, though I was nervous about us. About everything. Life used to be so much... easier. Now I was scared of what my past would do to Jeremy. And now I was friends with a vampire. Since when was I so naive?

We reached Caroline's house, and I stopped. I looked at Jeremy with a smile. "Thanks for the company."

"Your welcome" Jeremy smiled and kissed the top of my head, causing me to take a deep breath, still feeling unused to this.

"I'll see you later" I walked inside Caroline's house. "Care?"

"I'm over here" She said in a loud, saddened voice.

I walked over to her. She was sitting in a dark corner by a wall. I frowned, now noticing all of the shining light through the window. I walked over to the windows and closed all of the blinds and curtains.

"Thank you" Caroline said, standing up and walking around. "This is a lot to get used to."

"I'm sure it is. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you" I frowned

"It's not your fault. It's just Matt finally told me he loves me, And now I'm blowing him off by just sitting here in the dark. And I can't even be around him without having the urge to tear out his throat" Caroline sighed miserably.

I frowned. "Would it be a bad idea if I invited him over if I'm here with you?"

"I dont know. I'll just... make it up to him whenever Bonnie makes me a daylight ring. If she makes me a daylight ring."

"Hey, she will" I assured her. "Stefan will make sure of it. And so will I"

"Thanks, Adele." Caroline sat on her couch and looked down. "I think Bonnie hates me"

"Bonnie doesn't hate you" I sat in a chair near her. "She's just having trouble adjusting. Especially since her Grams died because of helping vampires."

Caroline sniffled back a cry. "She did?"

"Yeah" I looked at her.

"How do you know about all of this?" Caroline looked at me, trying to distract herself from Matt.

"It's sort of the family business. I'm a hunter. Like my brothers. And my father. And my mother's side" I replied.

"A hunter?"

"We hunt supernatural creatures. But only the ones that hurt people."

"Do you like being a hunter?"

"I do and don't. I love hunting with family. But without them... It's meaningless. I mean, I save people. And I love that. But it's just different without my brothers"

Caroline nodded. "Where are they now?"

"One is in Idaho and the other is... dead" I took a deep breath as I said the last word.

"I'm sorry" Caroline said and hugged me before tensing up at being so close, And she pulled away.

"We are going to get the bloodlust under control. You hear me? It won't be like this forever."

"I hope not" Tears swelled in Caroline's eyes. "I don't know what I would do." She took a deep breath and blinked them away. "Sorry. Stefan says my emotions are hightened right now. It's a lot to work with. He says controlling it gets easier."

"Good" I nodded.

"So how are things with you and Jeremy?"

I smiled at the new topic. "Great. We've gone on our first breakfast date, and he walked me here"

"Aww. You guys are perfect!" Caroline clapped her hands together, beaming.

I smiled a bit at that. "The problem is... whenever a Winchester falls in love with someone or cares about someone, they end up dead. Jeremy has a ring to protect him from dying at the hands of a supernatural creature, but if it comes off..."

Caroline sighed miserably. "Looks like we are both doomed when it comes to love."

"You are not doomed, Caroline. Matt loves you, and you love him. You just have to get more control."

"But what if I tell him, and he doesn't accept me?"

"He will" I said firmly. "And if he doesn't... I will talk to him."

"Thanks, Adele"

There was a knock on the door. Matt Donovan. Caroline closed her eyes sadly and brought her knees to her chest.

"Caroline. Caroline!" Matt called out.

When there was no reply, he pulled out his phone. She didn't answer his call so he left a message. "Hey, I thought you said you were at home. Tyler is doing this whole thing at the swimming hole and I want us to spend the day together. Where are you? Call me."

Matt started walking away, and I frowned, looking over at my miserable friend. I hopped up from my seat.

"Where are you going?"

"Letting Matt come in"

"What? I can't hurt him!"

"You wont" I told her. I rushed to the door and opened it a little before rushing out. "Matt!" I called out as he reached his truck that was parked on the side of the road.

Matt turned around. "Adele? What are you doing here? Is Caroline home?"

"She is, but she has a headache so light bothers her. So we are trying to prevent light from entering the house for her sake. Alright?"

Matt nodded. "Should I bother her then?"

"She wants to see you. She's been talking about you all morning" I told him.

"Alright. Lead the way" Matt chuckled with a smile.

I walked him to the front door and opened it some, letting him inside. Matt walked over to Caroline. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Caroline swallowed. "Alright..."

Matt pulled Caroline into a hug, and I watched her stiffen and take quiet deep breaths as she held him close. I smiled at Caroline proudly. Matt pulled away after a minute.

"I'm glad you're okay. I was worried for a second there" Matt looked at Caroline.

"Yeah, I'm fine"

Caroline smiled at him, trying to control the bloodlust that craved to rip into his throat and drain him dry. She didn't want to hurt him. She couldn't.

"Good" Matt smiled and kissed her, ignoring my presence. He pulled away and pulled her close to him. "I hope your headache goes away."

"Me too" Caroline said, her eyes closed, which only helped with the bloodlust a little. She could still hear his heart pumping and smell the blood that rushed through his veins.

I was worried this was a bad idea, but it eased, seeing her happy to be with him. Even if it was hard. Caroline leaned on Matt's shoulder, but veins formed on her eyes as the hunger grew.

"Caroline" I said suddenly. "If you're feeling a little better, we could all watch the Notebook or something."

Caroline pulled away from Matt a bit, startled. "Yeah. That sounds great." She put on a smile. Matt slipped his hand into hers, smiling at her.

I grabbed the movie and put it in.

A few hours later, I looked at Matt. "Caroline should get some rest so she is feeling her best for swimming tonight."

Matt nodded and kissed Caroline's forehead. He left the house after exchanging goodbyes, and Caroline let out a sigh.

"It's so hard, Adele" She frowned.

"I know. I know. But you did well. I knew you could do it."

Caroline smiled. "I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah. Most wouldn't hesitate in killing someone even if they loved them. I've seen it. But you didn't. You didn't hurt Matt or me. You're stronger than you think"

Caroline's phone dinged, and she grabbed it. She looked at me, her eyes wide. "Bonnie agreed to make me a daylight ring."

"Excellent" I grinned. "See? Somewhere she has to know you are still Caroline."

Caroline nodded with a smile.

Soon, there was a knock on the door. There stood Stefan and Bonnie. Fortunately, Stefan had already been invited in, and the four of us headed to Caroline's room.

Stefan held out a hand to stop me. "I don't know if you should be up here"

"Oh, come on. That's bullshit and you know it."

"I know you can take care of yourself, but it is still risky. You won't hurt Caroline if she attacks you" he said.

"She won't" I said firmly. I needed to believe in her. Even if no one else did.

Stefan sighed and nodded. I went up the stairs to Caroline's room, and Caroline was sitting on the bed, her knees to her chest to prevent the little sunlight streaming in from burning her.

Bonnie put the ring in the stream of light. She held her Grimoire and did a silent spell before closing it and saying, "it's done"

Caroline looked hesitant as she slid it on. "That's it? I mean nothing witchy happened. No flickering lights. No gust of wind. Have you even done this before?"

"Caroline..." Stefan warned.

"What? I just want to make sure it worked."

Bonnie slid the curtain open, and Caroline let out a small scream in fear and startlement. "It worked."

"Well, what if it hadn't, Bonnie?" Caroline demanded.

"She's all yours" She told me and Stefan before walking out of the room.

Caroline let out a sigh and held out the ring to examine how it looked on her finger.

"I think it looks great, Care Bear" I smiled at her.

"Yeah it does. Are you going to the swimming thing tonight?"

I shook my head. "Probably not."

Caroline nodded.

"Well, Caroline needs to go feed so..." Stefan trailed off, uncomfortable.

I nodded. "See you later, Caroline."

"Yeah. Thanks, Adele. For everything" Caroline said.

I smiled and left the house before heading to the Grill.


	15. Chapter 15

A few days had past, and I hadn't spoken to my brother. What would I tell him that he wouldn't scold me for? I missed Sam. I missed Dean. I missed Bobby. I missed Cas. And I even missed Ben and Lisa. I was miserable without them. Even though Jeremy and Caroline made it better. I still felt like I was dying inside. Though they were all I had to hold onto.

I was on yet another great date with Jeremy Gilbert and also avoiding the Salvatores and Elena. I was still pissed at the lot of them and wanted nothing more to kill Damon Salvatore. But I restrained myself and found my distractions. And by distractions I mean Jeremy, who I think I kind of loved. Though I wouldn't admit it. Because then he would most certainly die. And love wasn't an easy thing to discuss. Especially not to a Winchester.

I leaned on Jeremy with a smile as we ate our food and talked. He then brought me to the movies to see some dumb but kind of funny movie and made fun of it after. Then we walked me back to Alaric's apartment.

"You know you can stay at my place anytime. I'm sure Jenna wouldn't have a problem with it. She likes you"

I smiled. "Yeah, well, my brother might kill you if he found out."

"Shame. Well keep it in mind."

"I will" I kissed Jeremy passionately and pulled him close. I could feel the rising and falling of his chest against my own. I pulled away with a large smile. "Goodnight"

"Goodnight, Adele" Jeremy smiled. He walked away back to his home.

I walked into the apartment and froze as I saw a familiar face sitting on the couch. No. Not now.

"Hello, Darling" Crowley smirked. "Quite the guy. A bit boyish I would think. And far unable to defend himself. Wouldn't it be such a pity if anything happened to him?"

"You son of a bitch" I swore venomously.

"Now. Now. I would be nice if I were you. After all I could kill him with the snap of my fingers" Crowley reminded me.

I took a deep breath and held my tongue.

"Good girl" Crowley said and walked over to me. "I'll need you to do something for me when I ask"

"Like hell" I said.

"Tsk. Tsk. Then Jeremy will die." Crowley walked away

"Wait..." I sighed, causing Crowley to grin. "What do you want?"

"You'll find out. Eventually"

Crowley disappeared.

"Son of a bitch!" I sighed and went to bed, exhausted.

The next morning, I woke up early and headed to the Grill to grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately, this is a stupid move if you want to avoid people. Because the second I walked in, my eyes fell on Elena and Damon who were talking. I rolled my eyes and sat at a booth.

Damon slid into the seat across from me. I moved to get up.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked.

"Away from you. In case you haven't noticed, in the past few days you have tried to kill my best friend and actually killed my boyfriend. You are the last person I want to be around, right now."

"So you'd rather be with Katherine?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh!" I buried my face in my arms. "Go away..."

"You act all strong, but I can see through it" Damon said. "It's all an act to hide how broken you are. Even Jeremy Gilbert isn't enough to fix it. And some day, you will realize that"

I looked up at him coldly. "You don't know anything about me."

"That's where you're wrong"

I get up and walk out of the Mystic Grill, bumping into Caroline. "Hey" a smile formed on my face. "How's everything going?"

"Terrible" Caroline looked down.

"What's wrong?"

"Matt broke up with me" She frowned, blinking back tears from her heightened emotions.

"Oh, no..." I hugged her. "I'm going to talk to him."

"You don't need to do it. It's my fault"

"No, Caroline. It isn't. You're adjusting. Adjusting to your new lifestyle."

"Lifestyle?" Caroline laughed weakly with a small smile.

"Yeah, lifestyle. You're practically a sister to me, Caroline"

"Thanks, Adele"

"Of course." I smiled and went back inside the Grill to Matt who was starting to clean a table. "We need to talk"

"Can it be later? I'm working" Matt looked at me.

"I'll make it quick. I heard you broke up with Caroline. I don't know why you broke up with her, but keep what I'm about to say in mind. She is going through A LOT right now. She's stressed and her emotions are all over the place. She's going through changes and needs you, Matt. She loves you. And I think without you, she may plummet into a dark hole, and we may lose the Caroline we know and love. Just keep that in mind" I walked away, leaving a shocked and confused Matt staring after me.

I walked back to Alaric's apartment and dialed Jeremy's number. I wanted to make sure Crowley didn't do anything.

"Hey, Adele" Jeremy said, answering the phone.

"Hey, Jeremy..." I let out a sigh in relief, having heard his voice.

"Is everything alright?" Jeremy asked.

"I was just making sure you were alright. Keep that ring on and be careful."

"I will" Jeremy said, not questioning me.

"Good" I sighed in relief.

"I'll talk to you later, Jenna wants my help for something"

Even though I couldn't see him, I could guess he rolled his eyes at that statement.

"Okay. Bye" I said.

"Bye, Adele" Jeremy said

I hung up with a smile on my face as I thought about Jeremy Gilbert. I pulled out my laptop as I reached my room and checked the news for the surrounding areas.


End file.
